Blazing Sky
by MangaFreak15
Summary: Tsuna isn't stupid. He knows construction workers usually aren't gone for years at a time, and they usually don't go to the South Pole to take pictures with penguins. And normal people can't conjure fire at will, but he can. All that's left is to wait and see, watch and learn. When Reborn goes to Namimori, he expected an idiot student, but found Sawada Tsunayoshi. Gen fic.
1. Prologue

**Blazing Sky**

**Gen. fic, no pairings.**

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**Summary:** Tsuna isn't stupid. He knows that construction workers usually aren't absent as long as his father is, and construction workers usually don't visit the South Pole to take pictures with penguins. He also knows that normal people can't conjure flames at will, yet he can. What's left is to wait and see, watch and learn. When Reborn goes to Namimori, he expected an idiot student, but found Sawada Tsunayoshi.

* * *

**Prologue**

* * *

[5 years old]

"Mom, why are you crying?"

Tsuna stared at his mother as she gasped and whirled around, her fingers swiftly wiping the remnants of tears from the corners of her eyes. She tried to smile at him like there was nothing wrong, but she couldn't disguise the redness of her nose and her eyes.

"Tsu-kun," she said gently, sitting down in one of the kitchen chairs. She pulled out the chair next to her. "Come here."

The little boy obeyed, climbing into the wooden chair. His mother pushed a photograph towards him. "Tsu-kun, Papa says he can't make it home this year. Look, he sent us a picture. He's working with penguins at the South Pole, isn't that cute?" said Nana.

Tsuna looked at Nana's face, then looked down at the color photo, a wave of anger sweeping through him as his eyes lingered on his father's grinning face. That man had no right to be smiling in such a carefree manner. He didn't deserve to be a father, abandoning his wife and child in Japan to go galloping across the world doing whatever it was he was doing. He wasn't stupid; the man claimed to be a construction worker, but were construction workers usually gone for years at a time? Did construction workers purposely go to the South Pole to take pictures with penguins? No, they didn't. That meant his father was lying. His tiny fists clenched the fabric of his pajamas tightly. That stupid man had lied to his mom and abandoned them. He probably didn't even care about them.

Looking up at his mother's face, which had fallen into a distant expression as she stared at the photograph, Tsuna decided that his so-called father should fall into a ditch and be left there to rot. He stood up abruptly on his chair and declared to his mom, "You should leave him. He's dumb and I think he's lying to you."

Nana looked startled at his words, then laughed softly. She patted him on the head and said quietly, "I can't, Tsu-kun. He's relying on me to make sure he has a home to return to. Maybe you'll understand when you're older." She smiled at him, but it fell flat because it didn't reach her eyes. Tsuna didn't like that look.

"You should," he insisted. "He's not a good dad. Real dads should be here with us and… and not making you cry."

"Oh, Tsu-kun, my little man," Nana said, picking him up. "Thank you, but we just have to be patient, okay? He'll come back, I know he will."

"But he made you cry!" Tsuna burst out, frustrated. Why didn't his mom believe him?

Nana didn't reply. She took him upstairs to his room and tucked him into bed, kissing his forehead. "Goodnight, Tsu-kun. Sleep well, okay?" Tsuna watched as she left the room, closing the door behind her. He rolled over restlessly, wide awake. His mom didn't have to pretend for his sake! He was tempted to kick the wall, but since that would only hurt his foot, he refrained. Burying himself under the covers, he wondered when his dad was going to come back. When the stupid man did, Tsuna vowed to give him a good few kicks for making his mom cry. Yeah, that sounded like a plan. He yawned, and was asleep in a matter of moments.

* * *

[Nine years old]

The years passed, and Iemitsu did not return. Tsuna grew increasingly bitter towards the man, and in an attempt to make up for the man's shortcomings, he helped his mom with household work. His classmates could call him a mommy's boy all they wanted - _they_ didn't understand what it was like to have a father abandon them. They didn't understand at all.

Luckily his friends Kyoko-chan and Hana-chan didn't look down on him for that. Tsuna wasn't the brightest match in the box, so he was grateful that the dark-haired girl went out of her way to help him with his homework. She was smart, and she actually thought he was doing something right by becoming the substitute "man of the house" instead of lazing about playing video games or being one of those "rowdy monkeys" that they called classmates. Tsuna didn't smile much these days, but that comment had made him crack one in amusement. After seeing that, both Hana-chan and Kyoko-chan seemed to make it their goal to make him smile more often.

It was a sunny afternoon on a Saturday that Tsuna discovered his flames. All his anger at his absent father had finally hit its peak, and when Tsuna punched the training log he had set up in his backyard to help train his body, the log exploded. He leaped back in surprise and shock. He stared at the broken and singed log, flabbergasted, then looked at his fist.

"How did I just…?"

He picked up a chunk of wood, and lightly smacked his fist against it. Nothing. Disappointed, he let the wood drop to the ground. He turned around to head back into the house. Better clean up the mess before his mom sees it and asks him what happened. It would be hard to explain something even he didn't understand.

For days afterwards, he tried to get those flames to appear again. He had no success.

* * *

[14 years old]

Reborn wasn't fond of Sawada Iemitsu, that much was certain. He respected the man for his strength, but not much else. True, the CEDEF leader had many enemies, but that didn't excuse his long absence from his home in Japan. He wondered how Iemitsu's wife and son felt, waiting for the idiot blonde to return home. He snorted, which was an odd thing to see a baby do.

"Reborn, do you understand your assignment?" Nono asked, his hands clasped together on top of his desk. The baby hitman nodded. "Good. Don't fail me - Sawada Tsunayoshi is the only choice we have left."

"I never fail my missions," Reborn replied. "I will make him a great mafia boss."

Nono nodded. "Then you are dismissed. Good luck, Reborn."

The baby hitman vanished.

* * *

**Just to clarify:**

**Tsuna is not the scared, stuttering pushover he is in canon. He is more mature here. When he was five, Iemitsu and Nono DID NOT visit the house, and so Tsuna's flames were never sealed away.**

**This is only the prologue, so yes, it is short. I'm not sure how far I'll continue with this, honestly. I have only a vague idea of what I want to happen when Reborn meets Tsuna, and when Gokudera meets Tsuna. Review anyways?**

**MangaFreak15**


	2. Chapter 1: The Gun-wielding Baby

**Sniff. I am positively floored by the response this story got. In less than 24 hours, too. I opened my email in the morning and my jaw practically dropped. Thanks for all the reviews, favs, and alerts! Hope you enjoy the chapter.**

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**Blazing Sky**

** Gen. fic, no pairings.**

**Features sarcastic!resentful!Tsuna.**

* * *

**Summary:** Tsuna isn't stupid. He knows that construction workers usually aren't absent as long as his father is, and construction workers usually don't visit the South Pole to take pictures with penguins. He also knows that normal people can't conjure flames at will, yet he can. What's left is to wait and see, watch and learn. When Reborn goes to Namimori, he expected an idiot student, but found Sawada Tsunayoshi.

* * *

**Chapter One - The Gun-wielding Baby**

* * *

"Tsu-kun! Could you please get the mail?" Nana called from the kitchen as she turned over an omelet.

"Okay." Tsuna yawned widely, covering his mouth behind his hand. He was still a bit sleepy, but he knew that if he didn't want to be attacked by the terrifying Namimori Middle prefect named Hibari, he had to make sure he was up early enough to eat breakfast and still be on time. He could always sleep in class, anyway.

He opened the mailbox and pulled out a few letters and a flyer. He blinked at the flyer, an eyebrow rising when he noticed it talked about a home tutor who was offering training for becoming a leader of the next generation. He shrugged and brought it inside with the rest of the mail. It was probably a scam, so he'd crumple it and toss it in the recycle once he was back inside.

Only he didn't, because the moment he put the mail on the counter and made to throw the flyer away, an unexpected voice piped up somewhere behind him, "Ciaossu!"

Both Tsuna and Nana paused what they were doing and looked around, wondering who was talking. Nana gasped when she spotted a small baby a few feet away. "Oh, you're so cute!" she gushed, scooping him up. "Are you lost? Mama will help you find your way home."

Tsuna stared at the baby, noting that the baby's parents must have a weird obsession with black suits, because the baby was dressed in the strangest outfit he'd ever seen on a baby. As far as he knew, babies that small didn't dress like they were in the mafia. This one was even wearing a fedora hat with a green chameleon riding on the brim. The baby had large, black eyes and a pair of curly sideburns that bounced when he moved his head. What a weird kid.

"I'm not lost. I'm the home tutor, Reborn," the baby announced.

"How cute," said Nana, thinking the baby was joking.

Tsuna eyed the baby warily, then looked at the partially crumpled flyer in his hand. This couldn't be a normal baby. What kind of coincidence was it that the day they got a flyer in the mail about a home tutor, a suit-wearing baby shows up and proclaims that he is said home tutor? Did that mean that the flyer _wasn't_ a scam? He must be losing his mind. Suit-wearing babies didn't just come out of nowhere and say they were home tutors. Scoffing mentally, Tsuna turned around to drop the flyer into the recycle bin.

_Bang!_

Tsuna jerked back in shock as the flyer he had just been about to throw away was shot straight out of his hand. The crumpled flyer now had a singed and smoking hole straight through it - mere centimeters from where he had been holding it. He looked at the suit-wearing, _gun-wielding_ baby incredulously. Nana was smiling and saying that he shouldn't be playing with toy guns, and seemed not to hear the baby as he told her straight-up that it wasn't a toy gun. The baby gave him a smirk. Apparently he didn't like being ignored.

_Holy shit, that's a real gun._ Tsuna was panicking a little inwardly. _What kind of strange world did I wake up to? Please tell me this is all a dream…_

"It's not a dream, Baka-Tsuna," said Reborn, maneuvering out of Nana's arms and landing on the kitchen table. "You're a candidate to become the tenth boss of the Vongola Famiglia." The baby's face showed that he wasn't kidding.

…_Say what? Now I _know_ he's definitely not a normal baby,_ thought Tsuna. _Mafia boss, huh? Maybe that's why that bastard never came home._ He glanced at the clock, and bit back a curse when he realized how much time he wasted because of the baby. He grabbed the finished omelet off the plate, scarfed it down, grabbed his bag, and rushed out the door after throwing back a quick "I'm off!"

"Have a good day!" Nana called after him. She turned back to the baby, but was confused when she noticed that he had vanished. "Oh, he must have gone with Tsu-kun," she said out loud, bringing the pan over to the sink to wash. Humming absently as she scrubbed the pan clean, she forgot all about the strange baby in favor of her daily chores.

Meanwhile, Tsuna was running to school as if the devil himself was on his heels. He didn't want to be late, because he would have the misfortune to run into Hibari and get the shit beaten out of him by the prefect's hellish tonfas. He'd prefer not to go around black and blue for the next few days, thank you very much. Part of him wished he could fight back, but that meant exposing his unnatural flame powers, and that was something he would rather keep a secret so that people underestimated him. It was bad enough that Hibari had already seen a spark of it once, and that's why he continued to attack him despite Tsuna adamantly denying it.

"You're going to be late, Baka-Tsuna." Reborn's voice speaking up right next to his ear made him start in shock and he nearly crashed into a telephone pole. A couple of passersby gave him dirty looks as he swerved by them to avoid the pole. He apologized to them quickly and rushed off. He briefly glared at the baby riding casually on his shoulder (when had he gotten there?).

"That was dangerous, you know. I could have hit that telephone pole," he said to the baby.

The baby smacked him on the cheek with his tiny hand and Tsuna nearly winced when he felt the amount of power in that little slap. "Always be aware of your surroundings, Baka-Tsuna. That's what a good boss should do," Reborn said.

"Since when did I agree to become the boss of your Famiglia?" drawled Tsuna, skirting past a group of chattering girls. He could see the gates of his school in the distance. "I clearly remember that I never said 'yes' or 'no'."

"You are going to become Vongola Decimo," Reborn said confidently, leaping off the teenager's shoulder as they approached the school. "I will make sure you become a great boss."

"Tch, yeah right," muttered Tsuna, an extra boost from his legs landing him on campus. He hadn't heard the bell ring yet, so he wasn't late. He breathed a sigh of relief; he wouldn't get beaten up today. "Me, a mafia boss? Ha. I'd like to see that baby try."

Tsuna made it to his class just as the bell went off, its shrill cry echoing through the campus. He collapsed into his seat, burying his face into his arms. He was tired, damn it. A light tap on his arm had him peering blearily at a pretty, orange-haired girl, who gave him a concerned look. "I'm fine," he mouthed to her. "Just tired. I'm going to sleep." Kyoko gave him a smile, nodded, and straightened back in her seat. Tsuna hid his face again until his name was called for roll. Instead of saying "here", he waved his arm lazily to let the teacher know he was present.

Tsuna slept through his first class. His teacher ignored him, having learned long ago that throwing chalk at his head was not a good idea. The brunet seemed to possess a very keen sixth sense that allowed him to catch chalk without looking and throw it back. The first time it happened, the teacher gave him a detention, but upon learning that Tsuna had done it _in his sleep_ (because the brunet didn't remember doing it and the student was known for telling the truth), the teacher decided he'd just leave the brunet alone. It wasn't worth the trouble having chalk pelted back at him by a sleeping student, who wouldn't remember throwing it anyway.

When class was over, Hana woke Tsuna up by hitting him lightly on the head with her textbook. Tsuna groaned, cracking one eye open. "Did you have to use a textbook?" he complained, sitting up and rubbing his head tenderly. "I could have lost a few brain cells."

Hana rolled her eyes at him. "You'd still have more than the rest of the monkeys in this classroom," she said, setting the textbook down. "So, Sawada-kun, why were you almost late this morning? You're usually here earlier." She gave him a suspicious glance. "Don't tell me you overslept, because you slept through the whole class."

Tsuna yawned. "Of course I didn't, I haven't overslept in years. Have a little more faith in me, Hana-chan," he replied. "And I was almost late because a weird baby walked into our house and spouted some nonsense about me being a boss."

Hana stared at him skeptically. "I know you're not one to tell lies, but I think you're pulling my leg here," she said.

"It's true, my mom was there," said Tsuna. "He was the strangest baby I've ever seen - "

"Ciaossu!" Tsuna tipped over backwards in surprise and crashed to the floor with a yelp. Kyoko helped him up, asking if he was okay with a concerned expression gracing her face. Tsuna glared at the smirking baby standing on his desk like he belonged there.

"You! How did you get in here?" he asked, getting rather annoyed. The baby, Reborn, seemed to take great pleasure in surprising him at the most random moments and causing him to get injured (or nearly injured).

"I'm not telling you," said Reborn. "And I told you to be aware of your surroundings at all times. You'll be easily killed if you space out so much, Baka-Tsuna."

"Er, Sawada-kun, you're not telling me this is…" Hana began slowly, looking at the strange baby as though he'd grown two heads. What kind of baby talked like an adult and wore a black suit and a fedora hat? The baby _was_ pretty cute, though, she had to admit. Those curly sideburns he sported were just begging to be twirled.

"Yeah, this is that same baby," groused Tsuna, slumping into his chair. "See? He's weird, isn't he?"

"I think he's cute," said Kyoko, giggling. "Are you lost, little boy? I can take you down to the nurse, if you like."

"No need," said the baby cutely. "I'm here to train Baka-Tsuna into a mafia boss."

If Hana had been drinking something, she would have spit it out all over Tsuna's desk. As it was, she just choked and averted her gaze to the wall. Sawada-kun, a mafia boss? What in the world was the baby even talking about?

"That's funny," said Kyoko brightly, patting the baby on the head. "I'm sure he'll be a great boss."

Hana exchanged incredulous looks with Tsuna, who rolled his eyes and mouthed, "My mom was like this, too." Hana shook her head and sighed. How could people be so naïve?

Reborn hopped off Tsuna's desk and disappeared to who-knows-where when it was time for class again. Tsuna was sure the baby would pop up again when he least expected it, but for now, he'd concentrate on class (and nap if it was too boring).

* * *

It was finally lunch time. Having only eaten an omelet that morning because he and his mother had been preoccupied by the appearance of the mysterious baby, Tsuna was quite happy to devour the bento that Nana had made for him. He usually ate lunch on the roof with Hana and Kyoko, but the two girls had something they needed to do today, so he was alone - "_was"_ being the key word.

"What do you want, Reborn?" sighed Tsuna, putting away his finished bento. "Haven't you bugged me enough times today?"

Reborn kicked him in the face, sending him crashing backwards with an exclamation of pain. "Ouch! What was that for?" Tsuna asked, sitting up rubbing at his cheek. He crossed his legs and glared half-heartedly at the baby standing in front of him. Reborn noticed when Tsuna's expression shifted into something more serious, and a tad contemplative. "You know… you're not a baby, are you? Normal babies don't wield guns or dress like you do."

"Correct. I'm the home tutor Reborn, the greatest hitman in the world, and I'm what is known as an Arcobaleno. That's all you need to know, Baka-Tsuna," said Reborn. "I'll make sure you become a fitting boss for the Vongola Famiglia." His eyes twinkled evilly. The smirk on his face - which looked downright strange considering he looked like a baby - didn't help.

"I've got one question," said Tsuna, standing up and brushing off his clothes. "Is my dad a part of this Vongola Famiglia?"

"He technically isn't. Your father is part of CEDEF, an independent organization that acts as Vongola's external advisors," explained Reborn. "Why did you want to know?"

Reborn saw the fury in Tsuna's eyes before he heard the resentment in Tsuna's voice, "So he _is_ a mafioso. I knew he was lying, that no-good bastard. How dare he lie to us for all these years!" In his anger, Tsuna barely remembered to keep the lid down on his flames. It wouldn't do for Reborn to see them. He took a deep breath: in, out. In, out. That's right, calm down. Calm down.

Unbeknownst to him, Reborn was wondering whether Tsuna could access his Dying Will flames. He had seen the strength of Tsuna's raw fury in the brunet's eyes, and for a brief second Tsuna's honey-brown eyes had turned a blazing orange color. Then the color receded, leaving behind the brunet's normal eyes. If Tsuna already knew about his flames, then he wouldn't need the Dying Will bullet. Iemitsu's son was turning out more interesting than he expected. The baby hitman hid a small grin. That idiot blonde was in for a rude awakening when he decided to return home.

Tsuna sighed and walked over to the fence. "Reborn," said Tsuna as calmly as he could, catching the baby's attention. "I'm afraid that I will have to turn down your offer. I do not want to be involved with anything my stupid dad is a part of." He dug his cellphone out of his pocket and looked at the time display on the screen. "I've got to get back to class. Bye." The brunet walked off after picking his bag up from the ground.

For a moment, Reborn simply stared at Tsuna's retreating back. The corners of his mouth curved downward and he tilted his head so the brim of fedora shadowed his eyes. "You don't have a choice, Baka-Tsuna," he said quietly. "You're the only heir left."

The door closed. Whether Tsuna heard him or not, Reborn was going to make sure Iemitsu's son understood the situation. They didn't have the luxury of time, so Reborn was going to have to step it up. He would make Sawada Tsunayoshi into a great boss. It was his mission, and he had promised he wouldn't fail. He never failed.

* * *

Tsuna had, in fact, heard him. _No choice? I have no _choice? he seethed as he walked back to his classroom. He slammed the door open with more force than necessary, making half the class jump in surprise. He stomped to his seat and threw himself into his chair, burying his face in his arms. Anyone with eyes could clearly see that something had put him into a sour mood, so his classmates wisely chose to leave him alone.

"Are you okay, Tsuna-kun?" asked Kyoko.

"Just _peachy_," replied Tsuna, although he tried to tone down the anger in his voice. Kyoko wasn't the one he was mad at.

"Did that violent monkey attack you again?" demanded Hana. "You don't look beaten up…"

"No, it wasn't Hibari-san," sighed Tsuna, lifting his head up. The door opened and the teacher walked in, so he mouthed that he would tell them about it later. Hana nodded and settled back into her seat, opening her class notebook. Tsuna took one look at the textbook and dropped his face back into his arms. He might as well nap his way through this lesson, too. It wasn't that hard, but it was boring.

Just before he drifted off to sleep, he had a feeling he was being watched.

* * *

The moment the last bell rang signaling that school was over, Hana walked up to Tsuna and conveyed her message with crossed arms and a raised brow. Luckily none of the three were on cleaning duty today, so Tsuna could tell them what happened as they walked home.

"The baby actually said that?" asked Hana, disbelief and a hint of disgust coloring her voice.

Tsuna nodded, his eyes darkening. "Apparently I'm their 'last heir' left," he said. "I don't have a choice, I _have_ to become the boss. What a load of bull." He kicked a rock in his path and it bounced off to the side.

"And apparently your father is a mafioso, huh? He's a bigger monkey than all our classmates combined for leaving you and your mother alone for all these years," said Hana with a steely voice. "When he comes back, ring me up. I'll make sure to kick him in the balls for you. Maybe give him a slap or two."

"Or ten, one for each year he was gone," said Tsuna, grinning. Hana laughed out loud and they high-fived. "Still, I wish he hadn't lied to us. It makes me feel like he doesn't trust us, even though we're his family. I hate him." Tsuna's grin dropped and his fists clenched at his sides.

"It'll be okay, Tsuna-kun," said Kyoko, smiling at him. "Hana and I will definitely support you."

"Of course," said Hana. "Who knows what kind of trouble you might get into without us there."

"Heh, thanks, you two," said Tsuna, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned. "Now, who wants some ice cr - "

It was sheer instinct that had him pushing the two girls away from him while simultaneously dodging the tonfa that struck a ground-shattering blow right where he'd been standing. Hana would take Kyoko away while he dealt with this problem. He turned around slowly, his gaze landing on the wild-haired prefect straightening up a few feet away, shaking the dirt from his weapon.

"Why did you attack me this time, Hibari-san?" Tsuna asked impassively, although he had a sneaking suspicion that the reason Hibari attacked him so much was because of that one time he had glimpsed Tsuna's flames (back when he hadn't been able to fully control them yet). After that one incident, Hibari had never stopped attacking him. Although it annoyed Tsuna to be attacked constantly, he had to admit that the prefect's continued assaults had vastly improved his speed and reflexes over the years. He just didn't want to fight back - he didn't want to give in to Hibari and show the prefect his flames. Tsuna didn't have much power when he fought bare-fisted instead of relying on his flaming fists, so that option was out, too. All he could do was dodge, run away, and hope that Hibari didn't hunt him down.

The prefect stared at the brunet with narrowed eyes. "Because I want to see that spark from our first encounter," said Hibari, bending his knees with his tonfas poised to attack. "I will not stop until you fight back, herbivore."

Tsuna threw up his hands in exasperation. "How many times do I have to tell you that I didn't do anything?" he said. "You were imagining things!"

"I do not _imagine_ things, herbivore," hissed Hibari. "I will bite you to death for implying that I am blind."

"What? Oh, come on," groaned Tsuna, leaping backwards as the prefect swept forward, the tonfa missing him by a couple centimeters. He had to duck quickly under the second tonfa and spin out of range before the Namimori prefect could whip his first tonfa back. Hibari crouched for a split second, then sprung towards Tsuna, who dodged to the side. Again and again, Hibari struck precisely with powerful moves, cracking the ground in several places where his weapons met dirt instead of flesh. After every move that missed, the prefect's strikes seemed to increase in speed, much to Tsuna's chagrin. His uniform was not going to last at this rate.

Hidden in a nearby tree, Reborn watched the one-sided fight with interest. Although not perfect, Hibari Kyouya had a surprising amount of speed and power - enough that he could easily be one of the tenth generation Vongola guardians if he joined the Famiglia. He'd get Tsuna to recruit him later. For now, he settled down to observe the fight. He was intrigued by what the prefect said at the beginning when Tsuna had asked why he was attacking him: _"Because I want to see that spark from our first encounter."_

Spark was an interesting term to use. Reborn's suspicions that Tsuna knew about and how to use his Dying Will flames increased. He was puzzled as to why Tsuna wasn't fighting back, though. If he could use the flames, why was he only dodging Hibari's attacks?

…Ah. That must be why. Reborn chuckled to himself. Silly boy. "You're not the only one in the world who can use flames, Baka-Tsuna," the baby hitman said to himself, knowing that Tsuna couldn't hear him. He'd have to sort that out with Iemitsu's son once he got home.

As he leaned backwards to avoid a tonfa strike to the chin, Tsuna suddenly shivered, the hairs at the back of his neck standing up. Someone was watching him, he was sure of it. He'd bet his computer that it was Reborn. Where was that baby hiding? Distracted, he didn't see Hibari's next attack until the metal rod made contact with his ribs. Tsuna choked as all the air was rushed from his lungs at the impact, and he staggered backwards clutching his ribs. Damn it, he was going to have one mother of a bruise there by tonight. Curse Reborn for distracting him!

_Always pay attention to your surroundings, Baka-Tsuna. Never let your eyes stray from your opponent until you're sure he's down, or dead._ He could just _hear_ Reborn's lecturing voice now. A grimace stretched across his face as he looked at Hibari. The prefect was wearing an odd expression - somewhere between satisfied and frustrated. Satisfied that he'd finally landed a hit, but frustrated because he hadn't gotten Tsuna to use his flames. Tsuna inwardly grinned. Ha, take that, Hibari!

"That's enough for today, herbivore," said Hibari sharply, turning around. "I will bite you to death next time."

"Yeah, whatever you say, Hibari-san," said Tsuna, wincing as he prodded at his bruised ribs. Hana was definitely going to chew him out later for not being careful enough, then she and Kyoko would bandage him up and they'd study together until it was time for the girls to go home. All in all, fairly standard routine.

A rustle preceded Reborn's arrival on top of his head. "That was pathetic, Baka-Tsuna," said the baby hitman. "You should have gone on the offensive, too."

Tsuna bit his lip to stop himself from snapping back _"how?"_ Instead he picked up his fallen bag, dusted it off, and began to walk home. He was mindful of his ribs. "I didn't ask for your opinion, Reborn. I'll fight however I want," said Tsuna. "So what's with this 'you-don't-have-a-choice' thing, huh? Don't I get a say whether I want to be a boss or not?"

"No," said Reborn promptly. "You are the only possible candidate left."

"What happened to the others? Shouldn't the current leader have children to pass the mantle to?" asked Tsuna.

Although he couldn't see it, he could feel the air around Reborn plummet in temperature. He shivered. "…You are the only one left," Reborn finally replied. He didn't answer Tsuna's question about what happened, but the fourteen year-old brunet could guess: they had been killed.

"Why me?" Tsuna questioned quietly, turning a corner. "Why am I even a candidate? Is it because my _dad_ is a mafioso?"

"You are a direct descendant of Vongola Primo, the first leader of the Vongola Famiglia. You carry his blood in you, therefore you are a viable candidate for the position of the tenth generation leader," answered Reborn. "Not just because Iemitsu is your father."

"I'm related to the first generation leader?" Tsuna asked, surprised.

"That's right. He was your great-great-great grandfather."

"Huh." Well, how about that. They weren't going to let him go, were they? "Fine, I get it. I'd rather not be the boss of a mafia family, but it seems I have no choice. However…" Tsuna took Reborn off the top of his head and set him down. The baby gazed up at him with an unreadable look. "…I have one condition."

"What is it? It better be reasonable," Reborn said.

"Of course. At least _I_ think it's reasonable," Tsuna said, donning a serious expression. Reborn suddenly had bad feeling, the suspicions lingering at the back of his mind bursting forth and shrieking at him. "My condition is this: _Sawada Iemitsu must leave CEDEF."_

* * *

**First chapter, done! Okay, fair warning, I usually don't update this fast. Anyone who has read my stories before should know already.**

**Let me know if anything is unclear. Review, please.**

**MangaFreak15**


	3. Chapter 2: Protecting the Famiglia

**You guys… my heart is floating like a cloud. Seeing my full inbox made me feel warm and fluffy inside and I couldn't stop smiling. QvQ**

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**Blazing Sky**

** Gen. fic, no pairings.**

**Features sarcastic!resentful!Tsuna.**

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**Summary:** Tsuna isn't stupid. He knows that construction workers usually aren't absent as long as his father is, and construction workers usually don't visit the South Pole to take pictures with penguins. He also knows that normal people can't conjure flames at will, yet he can. What's left is to wait and see, watch and learn. When Reborn goes to Namimori, he expected an idiot student, but found Sawada Tsunayoshi.

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**Chapter Two - Protecting the Famiglia**

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"_My condition is this: Sawada Iemitsu must leave CEDEF."_

That definitely got a reaction out of the miniature hitman, although it wasn't a reaction Tsuna had been expecting. He had thought Reborn would say something like "no, that's unreasonable" or "condition denied, but you're going to become the boss anyway". But no, the hitman didn't say anything. Reborn had just stared blankly at him for a second, then…

…he kicked Tsuna in the face.

"Not again," Tsuna sighed, rubbing at the tender spot on his cheek where Reborn had previously kicked him during lunch. "Come on, it's reasonable, isn't it? I didn't say 'leave _permanently'_, you know?"

That was true, Reborn mused. _But even if he said that, it would have been rejected._ Because Iemitsu hadn't come home in the last ten years, Tsuna and his mother knew nothing about the man beyond what he wanted them to know. They didn't know that Iemitsu was the leader of CEDEF, nicknamed "The Young Lion of Vongola" for his feats. Iemitsu hadn't returned home because he feared that his enemies might learn of the whereabouts of his wife and child, and go after them. But his extended absence had caused his son to grow up harboring bitter feelings for him. Reborn had seen how much pent-up anger Tsuna had towards his father. But surprisingly, Tsuna's condition for agreeing to become Vongola Decimo had been… well, more reasonable than he expected. Reborn hid a smirk. No matter how much Tsuna tried to pretend that he resented his father, deep down all the boy wanted was for his father to come home. Well, he'd make sure that happened sometime during training.

"Fine. I will make sure Iemitsu takes a vacation from his CEDEF duties so you and Mama can have time with him," Reborn replied.

"Don't get me wrong, Reborn. I want nothing to do with that failure of a man," said Tsuna, noticing the glint in Reborn's eyes. "But if he's gone for this long, there has to be a reason why. Makes sense since he's a mafioso, but that doesn't mean I'll forgive him." Tsuna picked the baby up and put him on his shoulder so he didn't have to walk back to Tsuna's house. Reborn sat back with a thoughtful look, immersing himself into his thoughts. Now would be a good time to ask about the brunet's flames.

"Tsuna," he spoke up, catching the teenager's attention.

"What, no more degrading nicknames?" Tsuna joked. Reborn cuffed him on the ear. "Hey!"

"If that's what you want, I'll always call you Baka-Tsuna from now on," said Reborn, smirking. "It suits you better."

"No, Tsuna's fine," said the brunet quickly. "So did you want to ask me something, Reborn?" He turned the last corner and spotted his house down the street. Finally! He needed to get his bruise looked at before it spread too much and hindered his movements. Hibari would be able to land more bruises on him that way, and then where would he be? A black and blue week didn't sound fun at all.

"I did, so pay attention and answer me honestly," said Reborn. Leon transformed into a gun, which clicked ominously next to Tsuna's ear. "Do you know how to use Dying Will flames?"

Tsuna slowed down as he approached his house and gave his tutor a blank look. "Do I know how to use _what_ flames?" he asked.

Reborn smacked him again. "Ow!"

"I told you to pay attention, Baka-Tsuna," scolded the baby. "I asked you if you could use Dying Will flames."

"What are Dying Will flames? I didn't know there were special kinds of flames," replied Tsuna. He wondered if Reborn was talking about the mysterious power he discovered when he was nine. So there was a name for it… did that mean he wasn't the only one who could use this power? Actually that made sense. It could be a power passed down through his family. That meant his father could probably use it, too. His eyes darkened.

"Dying Will flames are a physical manifestation of your resolve," explained Reborn, noticing the sudden mood change in the brunet. "Think of them as condensed forms of energy that are used mainly for combat. By entering a 'dying will' state, you push your body to the limits to achieve amazing strength."

"Huh. So they're flames based on emotions?" asked Tsuna. He opened the door and called out, "I'm home!"

"Welcome back, Tsu-kun!" His mother's cheerful voice rang out from the kitchen. "I made some cookies for you to eat while you study. They're on the table. Kyoko-chan and Hana-chan went to run an errand, so they'll be back later."

"Okay, thanks, Mom." Tsuna tossed his bag on the floor and walked into the kitchen to get his cookies.

"Your flames will react to your emotions, yes," said Reborn, leaping off Tsuna's shoulder to take a cookie for himself. "But you still haven't answered my question: can you use them?"

Tsuna shrugged, picking the plate up. He took his bag and headed up to his room, murmuring in the low voice, "Wait till we get to my room. I'm not sure I can use those flames you're talking about, but I've got something to show you."

To Reborn, that meant yes, Tsuna could use the flames. But he couldn't be a hundred percent sure until he saw whatever it was Tsuna wanted to show him. He followed Tsuna up the stairs and into the brunet's room, which was a little messy, but cleaner than he expected from a teenager. Tsuna put the plate of cookies down on his desk and sat down in his chair. Reborn hopped on to Tsuna's bed.

"Okay, Reborn, here's what I want to show you," said Tsuna. He held up one index finger, which Reborn turned his attention to. A mere second later, a small orange flame lit up at the tip, burning merrily. Reborn felt excitement rise up in his tiny body at the display. To output a flame that small and have total control over it required time and practice. Tsuna was definitely more advanced than he thought Iemitsu's son would be. He didn't need to use the Dying Will bullet at all, which meant he could get started on the real training right away. Now _that_ was pleasing thought.

"That's your Dying Will flame," he said to the brunet, who extinguished the flame. "Since you know how to use it already, I don't have to waste time training you to access it on your own. That means we can step up your training."

"What do I have to do?" Tsuna asked warily. Reborn was giving off some really creepy vibes with that innocent smile of his. That couldn't be good.

"For starters… you can spar with Hibari every day," said the baby cheerfully. "And you have to fight back, not just dodge. If you don't…" Reborn's chameleon transformed into a gun, which he aimed at Tsuna. "…you'll be punished."

"But my flames aren't natural. I don't want to expose such a vital part of my fighting style to Hibari, of all people," Tsuna protested. "And if I'm going to be a mafia boss, as you said, won't I have enemies coming after me? I'd rather keep myself under the radar so they underestimate me."

"Smart," Reborn concluded, nodding and smiling. "You can fight Hibari in a private space where no one will disturb you. I can arrange it for you if you need. But you should know, Baka-Tsuna, that your abilities aren't going to stay hidden forever." He adopted a serious look. "There are enemies you will face who have excellent spies, so you must always be prepared for the worst outcome. Remember: the Famiglia is the most important. It is the one thing you need to protect above all else."

"The Famiglia, huh…" Tsuna's thoughts wandered back to his absent father. Reborn had said his dad was a part of CEDEF, an organization independent from the Vongola Famiglia that he was training to become the tenth generation leader of, but if CEDEF acted as Vongola's external advisors, didn't that mean his dad was part of the Famiglia, too? He hated his old man, but he didn't want him to die. If his dad died, his mom would be even sadder than she was when he was away. He didn't want to see that hopeless, despairing look on his mom's face if he could help it. When he'd been five, he had thought it would be alright if Iemitsu was left to rot in a ditch, but now he knew better. "Say, Reborn, does this mean I'll have subordinates?" He picked up a cookie to nibble on as he dug his homework out of his bag.

"Of course. But the Vongola Famiglia is special; the boss has six guardians to protect him, each wielding a different flame of the Sky. You, of course, are the boss since you wield a Sky Element flame, but you will have to find your six guardians. Each element possesses a different quality, so your guardians will have various personalities depending on their element. Hibari Kyouya's wild nature and hatred of crowds makes him an ideal Cloud Guardian," said Reborn.

Tsuna paused mid-bite. "Wait, wait, wait," he said, swallowing what was in his mouth. "I need to recruit _Hibari_ into the Famiglia?" He sounded incredulous. "Are you crazy? He'd take my head off before I could even ask."

"You will do it," said Reborn confidently. "I'm sure his respect for you will go up a lot more once you fight him with your flames."

"If you say so," said Tsuna doubtfully. Well, Hibari had already seen his flames once, and had been trying to get Tsuna to use them again for a long time. Giving in and showing his flames to the prefect felt a lot like losing, but he knew no one could win all the time. Maybe the prefect would stop attacking him at random moments if he fought with his flames. If they set up a scheduled time and place, then he could fight on his own terms rather than worrying about whether other people were going to see it and freak out because… well, controlling fire wasn't normal, by any means. Although the ability to use Dying Will flames appeared to be the norm according to this Vongola Famiglia.

Downstairs, a familiar voice rang out, "We're back! Did Tsuna-kun come home yet?"

"Yes, he's in his room now," replied his mother. That must be Kyoko-chan and Hana-chan.

Rapid footsteps sounded on the stairs, then his door burst open and Hana marched in. "Alright, where did that violent monkey hit you this time?" she asked in a no-nonsense tone, crossing her arms.

"Ribs," Tsuna answered, his fingers absently going to the injured spot.

Hana sighed, setting her bag down. "You know the drill, Sawada-kun. Take off your shirt so I can see how bad it is," she said, opening her bag to pull out ointment and bandages.

"Hibari-san didn't hurt you too badly, did he?" Kyoko chimed from the doorway. The concern on her face was plain as day.

"He got a lucky shot," Tsuna grumbled, pulling his shirt over his head and tossing it on his bed. He vaguely realized that Reborn had disappeared somewhere, but thought nothing of it because he was sure the infant would be back soon. He bit back a wince when he realized how swollen the bruise had gotten on his way home. He gave Hana a sheepish smile. She glared ferociously at his injury, grinding her teeth so hard Tsuna could swear he could hear them.

"Kyoko-chan, could you get me some ice?" the dark-haired girl asked, deceptively calm.

"Sure!" The orange-haired girl vanished from the doorway, her light footsteps thudding down the stairs.

Hana turned her attention back to Tsuna, and huffed. "Lucky shot or not, a bruise that big is nothing to sniff at," she snapped. She blew an errant strand of hair out of her eyes in irritation. "Damn that violent monkey. I still don't understand why he keeps attacking you out of the blue like that."

_I know exactly why,_ Tsuna thought. _Reborn says it's okay to show Hibari, but…_ Looking at Hana as she unscrewed the lid of the ointment container, his fists clenched minutely. _…I don't want Kyoko-chan and Hana-chan to know. I don't want to drag them into the world of mafia._

"Baka-Tsuna, if they're associated with you, they're going to be involved anyway." Tsuna was startled out of his thoughts by Reborn's voice. The baby hitman was standing on his desk looking at him, although Tsuna could swear that he hadn't been there a second ago. Then Tsuna realized what Reborn said.

"Did you just read my _mind?"_ he demanded, looking indignant.

"Of course. You're like an open book," replied Reborn without missing a beat. "We'll need to work on that, of course. A good mafia boss needs a good poker face." Tsuna gave him the evil eye, which tempted Reborn to kick him again, but the miniature hitman held back because Tsuna needed to address his injury first.

"Here's the ice, Hana-chan," said Kyoko, walking back into the room. She handed the ice pack to her dark-haired friend, who gave it to Tsuna and told him to hold it to his bruise for a few minutes. Hopefully the swelling would go down with the application.

Tsuna pressed the ice pack to his bruise, letting out a hiss as the icy surface made contact with the heated skin. The bruise numbed quickly and the brunet sighed in contentment as the dull ache he could feel from his ribs melted away. That felt good. His fingers started to freeze, so he took his uniform shirt, wrapped it around the ice pack, and pressed the frozen end back to his bruise.

Hana twisted to look over her shoulder at Kyoko, asking, "By the way, Kyoko-chan, is that kendo monkey still pestering you to go on a date with him?"

"Kendo monkey? Oh, you mean Mochida-senpai," said Kyoko, fiddling with her fingers nervously. "Yeah, he is… I don't really know what to do about it."

"Mochida's still harping on you?" Tsuna said, raising a brow. He groaned, using his free hand to cover his face. "Damn. I'm guessing he's going to confront me tomorrow, _again._"

Hana made a noise that sounded like a cross between sympathetic and annoyed. "Dumb kendo monkey can't take a hint," she grumbled. "Sawada-kun, you should take his stick and shove it so far up his ass that he - "

"No thanks," Tsuna interrupted hastily. "I think I'm better off without knowing what the jerk's ass even _looks_ like." He shuddered at the mental image. Kyoko giggled at the expression on his face and Hana snorted, clearly amused.

Reborn watched the interaction from Tsuna's desk, his curiosity piqued. He'd have to find out who this 'Mochida-senpai' was and evaluate whether or not he would make a good warm-up exercise for Tsuna before the person he called over from Italy arrived. He smirked, tilting his head so that the brim of his fedora shadowed his eyes. Even though he had yet to observe Tsuna's combat abilities with his flames ignited, he had no doubt that Smokin' Bomb Hayato stood no chance against the brunet, especially if Tsuna could at least fight on equal grounds with Hibari Kyouya. Yes, he just needed to test Tsuna's strength as a future mafia boss. Tsuna's flames may be pure Sky Element, but the best way to test their purity was to see what level of loyalty the brunet inspired in people. This mission was proving to be quite interesting. True, he prided himself on being able to whip even the most useless students into shape, but having a student already at an advanced level made things much easier for him.

"Baka-Tsuna," he called out, getting the trio's attention as Hana made her way to the brunet to apply ointment on his bruise.

"Yeah? Do you need something, Reborn?" asked Tsuna, shifting so that Hana had better access to his bruise. He set the bundled ice pack on the floor, gesturing for Kyoko to take it back to the kitchen. The orange-haired girl complied.

From seemingly nowhere, the baby produced a thick book and put it down on his desk. "This is a guide book on how to be a good mafia boss," he explained. "You have to read the whole thing and memorize everything in it."

Tsuna stared at Reborn, then stared at the book. "You're kidding me, right? I'm decent at memorizing things, but a _whole book_ is impossible - "

Reborn's gun clicked, the innocent look on the Arcobaleno's face doing nothing to hide the sadistic glint in his black eyes. Tsuna's mouth closed and he sighed.

"I'll shut up now."

To Hana's credit, she studiously ignored what was going on and focused on bandaging Tsuna's ribs.

* * *

Just as Tsuna had predicted, he had hardly set a foot on campus when the dark-haired kendo captain barreled up to him with a snarl. "You cretin! You have no right to stand in Kyoko's presence so casually! For this, I shall smite you!" he yelled, brandishing his shinai.

Tsuna gave him a bland stare, unruffled by his declarations. "I don't know how many times I've told you this, but you do realize Kyoko-chan and I are just friends, right?" he drawled. "So we grew up together. Big deal." Mochida reddened indignantly.

"Foul stalker! I challenge you to a kendo match, and the prize is - "

"No thanks, you're going to cheat like no tomorrow if I accept," interrupted Tsuna, brushing past the taller kendo captain. "Excuse me, but we need to get to class."

"Kyoko-chan isn't some prize to be won either, you idiot monkey," sniffed Hana, marching past Mochida with a disdainful look on her face. "Stop bothering her. Nobody wants to go out with an asshole who pesters them endlessly." She tugged Kyoko past the irritating kendo captain.

Mochida's face looked red enough to explode. "None of your business, Kurokawa. Sawada! You're a coward, aren't you?" he roared, whirling around. "Three o'clock at the kendo dojo, if you don't show up, it's an automatic forfeit and Kyoko will be mine!" He laughed maniacally.

Tsuna kept walking.

* * *

"Oi, Baka-Tsuna," said Reborn, jumping on Tsuna's desk during their break period.

"What's up, Reborn?" asked Tsuna, giving his attention to the suit-wearing baby. "You're not going to tell me I have to accept that stupid challenge, are you?"

"I am," replied Reborn, smacking his student and ignoring the indignant cry of pain that followed. "Mochida Kensuke is undermining the value of your family and it is your duty to protect it."

"Yeah, yeah, 'the Famiglia is the most important' and all that," sighed Tsuna. Reborn kicked him for his snarky attitude. "Hey! Stop hitting me, at this rate you'll give me more bruises than Hibari does."

"Then you should learn to dodge them," chirped Reborn, giving him a 'Who, Me?' kind of look. Tsuna didn't buy it for one second.

"So I have to go?" Tsuna grumbled. "Damn, I was hoping to avoid this. You know he's going to cheat and make the match as one-sided as he can, right? I don't even know how to use a shinai."

"Don't worry, as long as you can get points, you won't need to know how," said Reborn. "All your practice dodging Hibari's attacks should give you an advantage."

"I'm not getting out of this, am I?" Tsuna slumped in his seat.

"Not a chance." Reborn gave him a sunny smile. Tsuna was tempted to stick his tongue out, but Reborn would probably give him an extra hard kick if he did that. So he refrained.

"What's going on, Sawada-kun? Are you actually going to accept that kendo monkey's challenge?" asked Hana, walking up to the brunet.

"You don't have to, Tsuna-kun," said Kyoko, leaning over from her seat. "I heard Mochida-senpai is really strong."

"The baby talked me into it," Tsuna deadpanned.

Hana gave Reborn a sideways glance. Ever since her introduction to this weird infant, she suspected that he was no normal baby. Considering that Sawada-kun wasn't one to lie, it was hard to accept that this baby could possibly be a home tutor sent to train Sawada-kun into a mafia boss. Seriously, a mafia boss? Had the world gone mad? But she might as well accept it; that infant was by no means normal (and what kind of parent would name their child Reborn, anyway?).

"Make sure to get in a good hit for me," she said. "I want to see that kendo monkey's ego deflate like a balloon."

Tsuna laughed. "Will do," he said, inclining his head.

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"So you've come, Sawada," said Mochida, geared up in his kendo equipment. His shinai was slung over one shoulder. "Be prepared to face the wrath of Mochida Kensuke!"

"Spare me the declarations and let's get started already," said Tsuna. He observed a couple of the kendo club's members struggling to lift what was supposed to be 'his' equipment. Like hell he was going to wear something that would slow him down and shift the battle in Mochida's favor. He already knew Mochida was going to cheat, but he wasn't going to let him get away with it.

He strode forward, ignoring 'his' equipment. Mochida started to laugh obnoxiously, saying something about how he was stupid for not wearing what had been prepared for him.

"Are you going to laugh all day, or are we going to start?" Tsuna said.

Mochida abruptly stopped laughing and gave the brunet a glare. "You're no match for me, novice. You know nothing about kendo, so how about this - you'll win if you can get a point off me," said the kendo captain.

"Fine by me," replied Tsuna, although inwardly he was deadpanning, _That's it? This'll be over in a flash._ He took a deep breath, spacing his feet apart and slightly extending his right hand forward. It all depended on the speed of his strike.

"Begin!"

The word had barely left the kendo member's mouth when Tsuna shot forward with a burst of speed, closing the distance between him and Mochida before the latter had time to blink. Mochida brought his shinai up to ward Tsuna off, but the brunet wove around the bamboo weapon and chopped Mochida straight on the forehead. The kendo captain staggered backward with a pained groan.

Tsuna looked at the kendo member impassively. "Well? Raise that flag; I got a point," he said.

The kendo member squirmed under Tsuna's gaze, but didn't raise the flag. From the sidelines, Hana gritted her teeth and growled under her breath, "Why, that dirty, stinking piece of monkey shit - "

"It's not over yet!" Mochida bellowed, finally straightening up. His forehead was marked by a bright red line where Tsuna's hand had hit him. Some of the students snickered at that and he sent them a glare. They stopped, although a couple of them continued to laugh at him behind their hands. His grip on the shinai tightened. Sawada was going to pay for humiliating him!

"Guess you're not going to yield unless I knock you out, huh," Tsuna muttered. "Fine."

Mochida surged forward, both hands gripping the shinai above his head in preparation for a downward strike, "Hyaaargh!"

Tsuna sidestepped the attack easily. This time he landed a blow to the left side of Mochida's head, instantly followed by a speedy strike to the right side of his head. The kendo captain stumbled, disoriented, but didn't fall. Tsuna frowned in annoyance. It would be so much easier to just punch him, but he didn't want to risk Mochida seeing that as a failure to follow the rules and automatically disqualifying him (even though he'd already won, considering he got three valid strikes in and not just one). Well, one last hit should do it.

"This is for you, Hana-chan!" he called out loudly. The dark-haired girl cheered from the sidelines.

Tsuna struck Mochida's head again before the kendo captain could shake off his momentary dizziness, and this time he dropped to the floor, out cold. Tsuna dusted his hands off and coolly turned to the referee. "Raise that damn flag, he can't fight anymore," he said, letting his annoyance flow into his voice. The referee quivered, then quickly raised the red flag. Tsuna relaxed.

"Thanks, Sawada-kun," said Hana, walking over to the brunet. "Seeing that jerk drop like a sack of potatoes totally made my day."

"You're welcome," said Tsuna, grinning at Hana's analogy. He turned to Kyoko. "People like Mochida don't like losing, so he'll probably still be pestering you for a date. You don't need to hold back, Kyoko-chan. Give him a nice, good slap to the face."

"Sound advice, if you ask me," Hana agreed. "Or you can tell me and I'll slap him for you."

Kyoko laughed. "Thanks, you two," she said. "I'll try to get him to back down."

"Now that that's over, why don't we get some ice cream before we head back to my house to study? I would've treated you two yesterday if Hibari hadn't attacked me," said Tsuna, steering the girls out of the dojo.

"Sounds good, Sawada-kun," said Hana.

"I want strawberry!" said Kyoko, smiling brightly as they exited the building.

As the crowd began to disperse, a shadowed figure hung back against the wall, crossing his arms. "So that's the future Vongola Decimo. Pretty impressive," he said to himself.

Reborn dropped from the ceiling with a smirk. "Different than you expected, right?" he asked.

"Yeah," the figure agreed, uncrossing his arms to stuff his hands into his pants pockets. "I'll test him tomorrow, like you asked. Judging by his display today, I think he definitely has the makings of a great boss." The person began to walk away.

Reborn watched him go, a calculating glint entering his eyes. "I'm expecting great things from you, Gokudera Hayato."

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**I didn't expect this chapter to run as long as it did. Originally I was going to do Gokudera's whole exploding shebang, but then one thing led to another and Mochida ended up stealing Gokudera's spotlight. Next chapter will be on Gokudera for sure.**

**I don't know about kendo personally, so if I'm wrong on any points, please let me know.**

**Review, please.**

**MangaFreak15**


	4. Chapter 3: Bomber Alert

**Now for our favorite bomber, who you've all been waiting for…**

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**Blazing Sky**

** Gen. fic, no pairings.**

**Features sarcastic!resentful!Tsuna.**

* * *

**Summary:** Tsuna isn't stupid. He knows that construction workers usually aren't absent as long as his father is, and construction workers usually don't visit the South Pole to take pictures with penguins. He also knows that normal people can't conjure flames at will, yet he can. What's left is to wait and see, watch and learn. When Reborn goes to Namimori, he expected an idiot student, but found Sawada Tsunayoshi.

* * *

**Chapter Three - Bomber Alert**

* * *

Later that night, as Tsuna and the girls studied together for their upcoming math test, Reborn silently slipped away to make a phone call. He dialed the numbers, then pressed the phone to his ear and waited for someone to pick up. After three rings, a familiar female voice answered in Italian, _"Hello, this is - "_

"I need to speak to Iemitsu," Reborn said brusquely, cutting off the person on the other line.

There was a brief pause. "Who is asking?" the woman queried sharply. Her voice was like sharp steel, ready to be unsheathed at the slightest hint of danger.

"Reborn."

The woman seemed to relax, because when she spoke over the phone again, her voice was more melodic, "Just a moment." There was a crackle like the phone had been put down, muffled voices speaking, and then a shift as the phone was picked up again.

"Ciao, Reborn. I heard that Nono finally sent you to Japan. How's my cute little tuna-fish doing?" asked Iemitsu. The baby hitman rolled his eyes; he didn't have to see Iemitsu to know there were probably sparkles and rainbows pouring off the man like water.

"He's not four anymore, Iemitsu," said Reborn. "I'll get straight to the point; he told me he would become Vongola Decimo on one condition. He wants you to leave CEDEF for an unspecified amount of time."

"He wants me to come home, I take it." Iemitsu sounded resigned.

"It's a reasonable request. You haven't been home in ten years; the kid hates your guts," said Reborn bluntly. "He might forgive you someday, though."

There was a dry laugh over the phone. "I suppose I can spare some time to make a trip to Japan. It _has_ been too long since I've seen my beloved Nana-chan," replied Iemitsu. "But not yet. I - "

"I don't need to hear your excuses," interrupted Reborn, his tiny hand tightening on the phone. "Just wrap up your business. I expect to see you soon." Movement from above signaled that the three students were finished studying for the night. "I need to go now."

"…Right. Ciao, Reborn." There was a click from the other end as Iemitsu hung up. Reborn frowned as he clicked the phone shut. Stupid blonde. What was he waiting for?

* * *

"Class, starting today we have a transfer student who formerly studied in Italy," announced the teacher the morning following Tsuna's and Mochida's one-sided match. "His name is Gokudera Hayato. Let's make sure he feels welcome, alright?" The class chorused their agreements.

A sullen teenager stood at the front of the class, his hands stuffed into his pockets. Although he looked less-than-friendly to the majority of the students, the girls couldn't help but squeal over his shiny silver locks and handsome face. Tsuna wanted to snort into his book in disgust at his classmates' shallowness. A quick peek backwards showed that Hana looked equally disdainful of her fellow females. Kyoko was smiling, but it was more of the 'oh, look, new student!' kind of look rather than the 'he's so hot!' look. Thank god his friends were more reasonable than the rest of the girls in the class.

Suddenly Gokudera's narrowed eyes landed on him and the transfer student regarded him with a wary look. Tsuna held his gaze unflinchingly, although inwardly he was thinking, _What's his problem? I don't even know him - oh, nuts. He's from Italy. That just _screams _'mafia'._

After a few seconds, Gokudera nodded at him and went to sit down in his assigned seat. Tsuna interpreted that to mean 'I'll talk to you later'. Well, there goes his peaceful break period.

The teacher started the day's lesson, and since it was quite dull, Tsuna was fast asleep mere minutes later, his textbook propped on the desk in front of his face. He was woken up by Kyoko shaking his shoulder at the end of class to signal that it was over. Letting out a jaw-cracking yawn, Tsuna stretched, feeling his bones crack back into their proper places.

"Sawada-kun, I noticed that the transfer student was eyeing you during his introduction. Do you happen to know him?" asked Hana as she came up to him.

"Nope, but I'm sure you can take a guess as to why he's here. Hint: he's from _Italy_," said Tsuna, stressing the name of the country purposefully.

"Oh, of course," Hana huffed, rolling her eyes. "I should have known. That baby is a tutor, you're going to be a mafia boss, and he's probably… what? Maybe your future subordinate?"

"Probably," agreed Tsuna. "I'd rather have friends than subordinates though. Looks like I've got quite a conversation ahead of me."

"You'll be fine, Tsuna-kun," said Kyoko brightly, offering him an encouraging smile. Tsuna smiled back, momentarily eased by her confidence in him.

"Oi, Decimo." The three looked up as the new transfer student approached them. The teenager looked a bit apprehensive, and he was absently scratching his cheek. "Well, I guess 'Juudaime' would be more appropriate since you're Japanese. Is there one you'd prefer?"

"You can just call me 'Tsuna'," sighed the brunet. "I don't need to be known by some fancy title when I'm still in middle school."

"Juudaime, then." The silver-haired boy nodded sagely to himself. Tsuna didn't think the boy had heard him. "I had heard that a boy around my age was supposed to be the next generation boss of the Vongola Famiglia. I came to Japan to see if you were worthy of the title." He paused. "I watched your fight yesterday, and so far I'm impressed. But - " Here his eyes narrowed at the brunet and he began to exude a dark, demonic aura, " - can you defeat _me?"_

Tsuna tensed, waiting for the transfer student to pull out some sort of weapon and wreck half the classroom. Hibari would bite him to death if that happened.

But Gokudera just jerked his head towards the classroom clock and mouthed, "Later." He returned to his seat.

"What was that all about?" Hana asked, one brow raised. "Are you supposed to fight him or something?"

"Evaluation," Tsuna answered. "He just wants to test me."

"Lovely," Hana said distastefully, rolling her eyes. "He's a monkey, too. We already have enough in this school as it is." She crossed her arms, accenting the annoyed scowl on her face.

"You guys can come and watch the evaluation if you like, as long as you stay out of the way," said Tsuna. "I don't want you two to accidentally get hit by a stray attack."

"No, we'll go to your house first and wait for you there," said Hana. "You boys can get your monkey business done without us watching." Tsuna grinned.

"Yes, ma'am," he said, mock-saluting her. Hana lightly slapped him upside the head. Then she walked back to her seat because the break period ended and the next class began.

* * *

Tsuna waved to Hana and Kyoko as they left the campus. He walked to a more secluded part of the school in order to avoid both the students' and the Disciplinary Committee's notice. He didn't want Hibari coming down on his and Gokudera's heads during the evaluation. He stopped at the back of the school and leaned against the wall, patiently waiting for Gokudera to find him.

The silver-haired transfer student appeared a couple minutes later, digging through his pockets for a lighter. Tsuna wrinkled his nose at the unlit cigarette stuck in Gokudera's mouth. He wasn't exactly fond of cigarette smoke, although, he supposed, he was going to have to get used to it if he was going to be a mafia boss. Gokudera took out his lighter and lit his cigarette, filling the air with the reeking scent of smoke. He turned to Tsuna.

"Do your best, Baka-Tsuna." Reborn's voice came from the windowsill near his head. The baby hitman was sitting comfortably on the white ledge, petting his chameleon. "I'm confident you can win, but you should never underestimate your opponent. Be prepared for anything." Tsuna nodded and stepped forward.

"You might be good at hand-to-hand combat, but let's see how you handle _these_," said Gokudera. He produced two sticks of dynamite and lit the wicks with the end of his cigarette. Tsuna's eyes widened at the sight of the deadly weapons. _Shit, I'm going to have to be careful with my flames if I don't want the both of us to blow up,_ he thought. He took a deep breath and ignited his Dying Will flames, relaxing into his calm, calculating battle mode.

Gokudera tossed both sticks of dynamite at him, which Tsuna quickly defused before they could explode. The bomber looked surprised by the speed at which he snuffed out the flames. His brows furrowed and he produced enough sticks to fill the gaps between his fingers. He lit them instantly with a single swipe of his cigarette and threw them at Tsuna, "Double Bomb!"

Tsuna defused the ones closest to him first, batting away the unlit dynamites so they weren't in his way. He made sure his feet had enough room to maneuver around, that way he didn't trip over one of the sticks and earn himself a face full of _boom!_ His fingers were like blurs as he snuffed out every flame, letting the dynamites fall around him. He kicked them away to clear space.

Gokudera leaped backwards in order to put some distance between himself and the brunet. If Tsuna got too close, the bomber could potentially blow himself up in the process of injuring the future Vongola Decimo. _Smart,_ Reborn thought. He smiled from his position, his mind mentally cataloguing the strengths and weaknesses of both fighters. Fighting Gokudera Hayato definitely wouldn't be enough to bring out Tsuna's potential, so he needed to find and talk to Hibari. Reborn was sure the prefect would be eager to spar with Tsuna in his Hyper Dying Will mode.

Tsuna caught on to Gokudera's strategy and moved a step forward for every step the bomber took backward. Seeing this, Gokudera switched tactics and dove to the side, flicking out numerous dynamite sticks. Tsuna defused them as quickly as possible, but Gokudera circled around him, constantly throwing dynamite at him, until his arms were literally blurring and dynamite was flying through the air like a storm.

The brunet cursed; there was no way he could keep this up. He had to get close to Gokudera. He let his flames flare brightly, pushing his muscles as far as they could go. He shot out of the mass of flying dynamite with his body nearly parallel to the ground, snuffing out all the sticks in his way. Gokudera's eyes widened and he reacted a second too late. Tsuna barreled into his stomach and sent the bomber flying backwards. The transfer student tumbled into the dirt with a grunt.

Tsuna took a great gulp of air and wiped the sweat from his forehead, where his bangs were sticking to his skin. Behind him, all the dynamite he hadn't managed to defuse exploded, throwing up dirt particles into the air. Tsuna winced a bit at the noise; that definitely had to have caught the Disciplinary Committee's attention. He had to finish this fight before Hibari made his appearance.

Gokudera got to his feet, a snarl on his face. He took out several cigarettes, stuffing them into his mouth and lighting all of them with his lighter. "Take this: _Triple Bomb!"_ he yelled around his mouthful of cigarettes. He produced a mass of explosives in his hands, which made Tsuna take a step backward in disbelief. The transfer student lit every single dynamite stick in his hands and prepared to throw them.

_Damn it, how am I supposed to defuse all of them - _Tsuna's thoughts raced and tumbled over each other in his mind as he tried to think of how to get out of this situation.

Suddenly one of the sticks, which had been teetering at the edge of the bomber's hands, fell from the pile and landed at Gokudera's feet. The bomber gasped and lost his concentration, unintentionally losing his grip on all his dynamite. The deadly explosives clattered around him, their fuses sizzling ominously. Gokudera's face pinched in fear and dismay.

Tsuna leaped forward, his hands flashing as he snuffed them out on his way to Gokudera. This evaluation had just turned into a life-or-death situation and like _hell_ he was going to let one of his future subordinates die! Then his bruised ribs acted up and he faltered, inwardly panicking, _Oh crap! Damn it, why now, of all times!_

He decided to ignore the pain and resumed his speedy beeline towards the transfer student. But there were too many dynamite sticks, and that brief pause when his bruise had made its presence known cost him precious seconds of time. Tsuna made a split second decision and sprinted forward, tackling the bomber to the ground with a flying leap just as the remaining dynamite exploded with a roar that rang loudly in Tsuna's ears. The acrid stench of smoke filled the air, and he felt heat blaze over his back. He clenched his teeth tightly in an effort to keep down his screams of pain. With his eyes tightly screwed closed, he didn't see the shocked look on Gokudera's face.

The heat died away quickly, but his back still felt like it was on fire. Tsuna didn't have the strength to get off the bomber; he was in too much pain.

"Juudaime, you… you saved me," Gokudera whispered, gingerly sitting up. Tsuna slid down, blinking slowly.

"What kind of boss would I be," the brunet struggled to speak through his haze of pain, "if I didn't… p-protect my Famiglia…" Then he fainted, his body going limp.

Gokudera panicked, thinking he had accidentally killed his future boss, "Juudaime? Juudaime! Wake up! _Juudaime!"_

"He just fainted," said Reborn brusquely, jumping down from the windowsill. "Get him to the nurse. He needs medical attention _now."_ Gokudera nodded and carefully slung the unconscious student over his back. He ran to the nurse's office so fast, it seemed like he teleported. He wouldn't let his boss die.

As soon as he was gone, Reborn turned his attention to the most urgent matter at hand: dealing with a furious Hibari Kyouya. The prefect was _not_ happy about the damage done to his precious school, and it showed in his body language. Hibari had rounded the corner to the scene just as Gokudera left, a deadly glare set in place.

Reborn hopped on the windowsill, chirping, "Hibari."

"Baby," growled the angry prefect, _"what happened here?"_ His voice sounded more vicious than usual.

Reborn took it in stride - Hibari might be frightening to many people, but Reborn had seen a lot worse over the course of his lifetime. He calmly began to explain to the prefect what had just occurred.

Hibari, surprisingly, listened to him without any interruptions. At the end, Reborn told the prefect about his proposition. Hibari looked excited.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi will fight me with those Dying Will flames of his?"

"Yes."

"And you promise that he will fight me every day?"

"As long as he is able to."

"In exchange, I only have to join his Famiglia as a 'Guardian.'"

"That's right." Reborn smirked down at the prefect. "So, Hibari Kyouya, do you accept my proposition?"

Hibari's eyes gleamed.

* * *

Tsuna woke up slowly. As he surfaced from the depths of unconsciousness, he became aware of several things: 1) his back was throbbing dully, 2) he was lying on his stomach on something soft, 3) there were muffled voices in the background that sounded an awful lot like Hana-chan and Gokudera arguing, and 4) someone was clutching his hand tightly.

He made a noise as he blinked his eyes open. The voices in the background immediately stopped. There was the sound of rushed footsteps and a chair screeching across the floor as someone accidentally kicked it in their haste to get to his side.

"Tsuna-kun, are you awake?" Kyoko asked anxiously.

He stared at her, not quite comprehending what she just said. Then his mind caught up with his eyes and he responded hoarsely, "Oh yeah, guess I am now." He coughed once, his throat feeling a lot like sandpaper.

"Don't talk," Hana said, her face coming into view. "The smoke screwed up your throat for a bit." She sent a glare over her shoulder, presumably at Gokudera.

Tsuna nodded mutely, feeling the soft fabric of the pillow shift underneath his cheek. There was a light smack on top of his head. Tsuna felt the tiny hand linger and knew who was behind him.

"Baka-Tsuna, you're lucky that you only had second-degree burns," scolded Reborn. "I healed the worst damage myself. The doctors took care of the rest."

_Thanks, Reborn_, Tsuna thought, closing his eyes again.

"Juudaime! Please forgive this lowly subordinate's thoughtless actions!" Gokudera's voice, sudden, loud, and pleading, caused his eyes to fly open again. He was taken aback by the sight of Gokudera prostrating on the floor by his bedside, his forehead touching the floor. Kyoko looked startled by the bomber's actions, while Hana looked a tad disturbed. "I will bear with any punishment you see fit."

"He can't speak, you idiot monkey," spat Hana. Tsuna looked up to see that she was throwing the groveling figure the most poisonous glare she could muster.

Gokudera looked up and threw an equally furious glare back. "Shut up, you stupid woman! How dare you act so casually around Juudaime!" he hissed.

"I'm his _friend_, jackass. I've known him hell of a lot longer than you, you worm!"

Gokudera's face turned red with anger. "Worm, is it? I'll show you who's a worm - " he snarled, pulling out a few sticks of unlit dynamite.

"If you're going to use dynamite, do it outside, Gokudera," Reborn interjected, frowning. "Your boss is injured enough as it is."

Gokudera looked sufficiently cowed by the Arcobaleno's words, although he still sneered in Hana's direction. Then he bowed to the ground again. "Forgive me, Juudaime! I only intended to put the woman in her place."

Tsuna sighed, wincing as the exhalation scratched his throat. "Hana-chan is… my friend," he whispered, ignoring the burning pain. "D-don't call her… 'stupid woman'… okay, Gokudera-kun?" He then began to cough harshly, not seeming to get enough oxygen into his lungs. His companions' voices rang out in worry and alarm.

"Quick, lift him up so he's not lying on his stomach!" Reborn's voice was sharp and commanding in the room. Tsuna, who was barely in touch with reality thanks to the pain radiating from both his throat and his back, felt someone lift him partway off the bed. His chest expanded in an attempt to secure oxygen and expel some of the carbon dioxide from his body. Each gasping breath he took rattled his lungs and seared his throat. His eyes watered from the pain and he felt nauseous.

Reborn cursed inwardly. "Someone get water and painkillers ready," he said. "And get a pail in case Tsuna throws up."

"I'll get them!" The door opened and closed, indicating that Kyoko had gone in search of the needed items.

"Stay with me, Juudaime." Gokudera's voice was low and close to his ear; the bomber must be the one holding him up. "It'll be okay, but don't go back to sleep yet."

Tsuna nodded the best he could. Sleep sounded absolutely fantastic right now, but he needed to take those painkillers first. His hacking coughs died down, but he still felt miserable. He hoped Kyoko-chan came back soon.

"Don't strain yourself, Baka-Tsuna," Reborn muttered. "As a boss, you need to look out for your own well-being, too."

Tsuna managed a brief smile. The door opened and Kyoko came back in, holding a gray pail in one hand and a glass of water and two painkillers in the other. She handed the pail to Hana and walked over to Tsuna and Gokudera. "Here, Tsuna-kun, swallow these," she said, taking one of the pills and pushing it past Tsuna's lips. Gokudera tilted his head up as she dribbled water down his throat to help him swallow the pill, gently massaging Tsuna's throat to make sure the pill went down and his boss didn't accidentally choke. Then they repeated the process with the other pill.

"Alright, time to leave. Get some rest, you hear, Sawada-kun?" Hana said, picking up her bag. "I expect to see you up and about in a few days."

Tsuna gave her a weak thumbs-up as Gokudera slowly let him down. Sleep was already tugging at his eyelids as the other two students prepared to leave him alone to rest.

"We'll be back tomorrow, Tsuna-kun," said Kyoko, giving him a cheery smile. "Good night!" The door shut softly behind her as she left. It was just him and Reborn in the room.

Just before he drifted into a dreamless sleep, he heard Reborn shift behind him and murmur, "Good job, Tsuna. You protected your Famiglia, just like a proper boss should."

Tsuna smiled.

* * *

**Hmm, this chapter wasn't as long as the other two, but I met my word quota anyway (minimum 3000 per chapter excluding prologue and epilogue). Alright, Gokudera's had his turn today. Next up is, of course… Yamamoto. Unless Hibari decides to steal his spotlight like Mochida did with Gokudera, haha.**

**Please review! They make me happy. ;)**

**MangaFreak15**


	5. Chapter 4: The Meaning of Life

**Okay. When I put the last chapter up and watched its performance flounder a bit and flop, I got a little bit depressed because the review count wasn't rising much. A lot of writers tend to have a "reviews = motivation" policy, and I'm one of them. So I decided to wait and see if my motivation would pick back up before I got to writing this chapter. On August 8****th****, I opened my email after I got up. If I had been drinking something at that moment, I probably would have spewed it out all over my keyboard. I have no idea what happened, but there was an EXPLOSION of favorites and alerts (and a few reviews) for this story**_**.**_** Seriously. I gaped at my screen, then I scrolled up and down looking at my emails a couple times, then I stared at the number in parentheses next to 'inbox' and finally decided that no, I wasn't hallucinating. So I kicked my muse into gear and got rolling to write this chapter as fast as I could. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Blazing Sky**

** Gen. fic, no pairings.**

**Features sarcastic!resentful!Tsuna.**

* * *

**Summary:** Tsuna isn't stupid. He knows that construction workers usually aren't absent as long as his father is, and construction workers usually don't visit the South Pole to take pictures with penguins. He also knows that normal people can't conjure flames at will, yet he can. What's left is to wait and see, watch and learn. When Reborn goes to Namimori, he expected an idiot student, but found Sawada Tsunayoshi.

* * *

**Chapter Four - The Meaning of Life**

* * *

It took about two weeks for Tsuna's burns to heal, although the body tissue was too damaged to heal the whole way even with Reborn's Sun Flames aiding the process. Tsuna grimaced when the Arcobaleno told him he would have burn scars there for the rest of his life, although they would probably fade over time. Well, as long as he didn't take off his shirt, nobody would see them. That made P.E. a problem though, because swimming was a part of the physical curriculum. Wearing a shirt would slow him down because of water resistance and the fact that fabric got heavier when wet.

When Gokudera heard that Tsuna would have scars because of his dynamite, he dropped on his hands and knees and apologized profusely. He even begged for forgiveness. Tsuna had just sighed and told him, "It's in the past. Just be more careful in the future, okay?" The bomber had nodded and thanked him, then apologized again.

As he was healing, Reborn came by and told him that once his burns were no longer an issue, he'd be sparring with Hibari for an hour every day. Hibari had agreed to utilize his personal training room for this purpose so that their fights were kept a secret from prying eyes. Not even his most loyal subordinate, Kusakabe Tetsuya, would be privy to the fights (although the D.C. member would be the one to bring them water and towels afterwards).

Tsuna was not looking forward to seriously sparring with the demonic prefect every day. Having Hibari randomly attack out of nowhere was bad enough.

On the first morning of the third week, he finally returned to school. Although it was far from being his favorite place, it was infinitely better than the hospital. Tsuna shuddered at the blank white walls and the sterile smell that blanketed the hospital like an evil cloud. He didn't want to go back there if he could help it.

"Hey, Sawada-kun. Welcome back," said Hana, smiling at him as he walked through the door to their classroom.

"You're alright then, Tsuna-kun?" asked Kyoko, turning in her seat to face him. "Your scars aren't hurting you, right?"

Tsuna shook his head. "I'll be okay for now," he replied. "I just have to make sure that they don't get too dry and that they're kept out of the sunlight until they mature."

"No swimming then," Hana concluded, and Tsuna nodded.

"I'm just worried about Hibari," he said, grimacing. "Apparently as part of my training I have to spar with him every day."

"_What?"_ Hana snarled, imaginary demonic flames sprouting up behind her. "Is that dumb violent monkey forcing you to fight him? If he is, Hibari or not, I'm going to go up to him and give him a nice slap to the face - "

"No, you don't have to do that," said Tsuna hastily. "It's Reborn's idea, not Hibari's."

The dark-haired girl harrumphed, but reluctantly back down. Then the door slammed open, making almost everyone jump from the loud noise. Gokudera stood in the doorway, his cheeks reddened by exertion, a light sheen of sweat beading along his neck and forehead.

"Juudaime!" he cried, his eyes landing on Tsuna sitting at his desk. He practically leaped across the room to get to his boss, who looked startled. "I apologize for not walking you to school this morning!"

"Erm, it's alright, Gokudera-kun," said Tsuna, befuddled. "You don't have to walk me to school. I'm fine on my own."

"I insist, Juudaime!" Tsuna's eye visibly twitched as Gokudera leaned forward with an eager expression. The brunet could just imagine him with the tail and ears of a puppy, the former wagging furiously behind the bomber. He shot a glare at Hana, who was covering her mouth in an effort not to laugh at him.

"Fine," Tsuna muttered grudgingly. "Just don't overdo it, okay?" Gokudera nodded so fast that, for a moment, Tsuna was afraid his head might accidentally fall off. But it didn't. He waved Gokudera away so he could faceplant on his desk. Reborn was probably hiding somewhere in the classroom and watching the interaction with that ever present smirk on his face. When he thought about getting subordinates, _this_ was not what he had in mind. He would rather have a friend than someone who acted like a zealous, overprotective fanboy. Tsuna paused at that thought and wondered if he could put himself out of his misery by smashing his head on the desk again.

He was saved from having to make that decision when the science teacher, Nezu-sensei, walked in with his ever-present faux air of importance. The man claimed to have graduated from Tokyo University with high grades, and so he was always telling them that it was an honor to have him teach them, but Tsuna and the girls had had their suspicions - for years - that the guy was lying. They couldn't prove it, unfortunately. On the bright side, it was fun to annoy him by either tuning him out and still answering questions correctly when he called on them, or just sleeping through his class (in Tsuna's case, anyway) and managing to get high marks on his tests regardless.

Nezu, of course, had already learned the 'Don't-Throw-Chalk-at-Tsuna' rule, but that didn't stop him from trying to catch the brunet offguard every class he caught him sleeping in. It was infuriating that the annoying student still got all the questions right. He wasn't going to give up, though.

* * *

When it was time for P.E., Tsuna learned that they were going to play a game of baseball. He groaned inwardly and wished a hole in the ground would open up and swallow him so he didn't have to play. If there was one thing he was bad at, it was baseball. Sure, he could run like the wind and catch balls like nobody's business, but _hitting_ the ball? That was a whole different basket of fish. Not to mention the times he actually connected bat to ball, they all managed to fly right into some player's mitt as if there was a homing device on it and he struck out. He sighed.

"Hey, Tsuna! You should be on our team." A familiar boyish voice snapped Tsuna from his thoughts, turning his attention to a tall brunet with warm hazel eyes. The person was Yamamoto Takeshi, the star baseball player of their generation. His teammates were shooting him looks - Tsuna recognized them as the 'what-do-you-think-you're-doing-you-idiot' kind of looks, which he was no stranger to when it came to choosing teams for baseball.

"Err, Yamamoto, he's the kid who can't hit anything and always strikes out," hastily whispered a boy on his right. "Are you sure you want him?"

"Don't worry, I can make it up," said Yamamoto cheerfully. "You can catch, right, Tsuna?"

"Yeah," Tsuna replied slowly, one eyebrow arching slightly.

"Then you're in! Come over here," said Yamamoto, grinning. Tsuna shrugged at the baseball player's carefree attitude and made his way over to his temporary team. Yamamoto had a great track record for hitting balls, so he wasn't too worried about striking out. He just had to focus on catching the opposing team's balls when they flew his way.

The game was surprisingly close. In the beginning they took a huge lead thanks to Yamamoto's skills, but the other team caught up quickly. Tsuna's strikeouts were nothing new, although he tried his best to ignore the dirty glares his teammates sent him every time it happened. Yamamoto, if he wasn't waiting at a base, would sling an arm over his shoulder and tell him he'd do better next time. Tsuna wished he could believe it.

From a nearby water tower, Reborn was watching the game through a pair of binoculars. A grin curled on his babyish face as he lowered the binoculars. "Yamamoto Takeshi - he's both athletic and popular. He'd be a fine addition to Tsuna's family," he said to himself. But there was something about the cheerful boy that tickled Reborn's senses. He decided to observe the game a little longer. The air Yamamoto gave off strongly reminded the baby of a potential hitman. If that was the case, there was no way he was going to let the baseball player go. Now, how should he go about getting Tsuna to recruit him? He pondered on that last thought as he watched the rest of the game.

In the end, despite Yamamoto's batting expertise, Tsuna's team lost by a single point. Tsuna almost rolled his eyes when his teammates threw their mitts down and scathingly told him that it was his fault they lost and he should clean up by himself. Way to boost a guy's ego, you sore losers. If it weren't for him and his ability to catch balls, they would have lost by a clear margin even with Yamamoto. Tsuna sighed and resigned himself to cleaning the field alone.

To his surprise, Yamamoto joined him on the empty field after a few minutes. "Hey, Tsuna," he greeted, holding a broom over his shoulder. "I've come to help you clean up. You shouldn't have to do it yourself."

"Thanks, I appreciate it," said Tsuna, giving the taller boy a smile.

"No problem." Yamamoto grinned. The two worked together in a comfortable silence, deciding to talk after they finished cleaning the field. Tsuna picked up the discarded mitts from the ground and stored them away along with a bat that someone had accidentally left behind. It didn't take too long with Yamamoto helping him, so within twenty minutes they were sitting on one of the benches on the side.

Yamamoto spoke up, "Say, Tsuna…"

The brunet immediately detected the slight hint of hesitation in the baseball player's voice. "Yeah?" He watched Yamamoto's body language for signs of trouble.

Yamamoto scratched his head, laughing aloud sheepishly. "I know you're not a great baseball player, but do you mind hearing me out?" he asked. His face remained relaxed, but there was weariness in the boy's eyes and a small slump in his usual posture that alerted the future mafia boss that something was amiss.

"I don't mind," Tsuna said. "What troubles you, Yamamoto?"

"Well, lately I've been in a bit of a slump," Yamamoto admitted, hunching over a bit. His usual smile had vanished from his face, leaving behind shadows and stress lines that made the baseball player look unusually tired. Tsuna inwardly frowned. He'd seen that look too many times on his own mother's face to count, and it certainly didn't belong on Yamamoto's face, either. He resolved to find a way to take some of the stress away from the other boy once he heard Yamamoto's problems. "I practice for hours every day, but no matter how much I put into it, my average is dropping and my fielding is screwing up. If I don't pull myself together, it'll be the first time I don't start since I began playing baseball." The boy sighed. "Tsuna, what should I do?"

Tsuna scratched his cheek, thinking about what to say. He couldn't give any baseball advice, but maybe something more general would work. "You know, Yamamoto, everyone has their off days," he began, scooting closer to the baseball player so he could pat the taller boy on the back. Yamamoto looked at him, his expression neutral. Tsuna took that as a sign to keep talking, "When you practice, what do you think you're doing wrong?"

Yamamoto's eyes shifted away, going a little unfocused as the boy thought about what he'd been doing during practice. "During fielding, my throwing times are slower than usual," he said, unconsciously crossing his arms. "When I'm up to bat, it seems like I'm not putting as much power into my swings. I don't understand why, though. I try to swing with all I've got, but lately I haven't even been hitting any homeruns."

"Do you use the same bat as you usually do?" asked Tsuna.

"The bats are generally the same for all players of the team, although there are a few lighter ones," said Yamamoto. "I use the heavier ones because they put more power behind the strike - "

"Maybe that's your problem," Tsuna interrupted, standing up. Yamamoto looked up, confused. "When was the last time you used a lighter bat?"

The baseball player uncrossed his arms and scratched his head. "I don't remember," he admitted sheepishly.

"I'm not great at baseball like you are, but if you don't mind, I can help you practice," said Tsuna. "I'll pitch and you can use the lighter bat first, get a feel for it, and when you think you're good we can ease into the heavier bats. Does that sound okay to you?"

Yamamoto grinned brightly at him. "I knew you were a good guy, Tsuna," he said, standing up and slinging an arm around the smaller boy's shoulders. "Thanks for offering to help me out!"

"Somebody's got to make sure our star baseball player doesn't burn himself out," Tsuna quipped, smiling back. "While you get the equipment, I need to run and grab my bag. Since I'm going to be staying back to help you practice, I need to tell my friends to start studying without me."

"Alright. I'll see you again in a few minutes." Yamamoto headed towards the equipment shed while Tsuna went to get his schoolbag.

The next two hours passed by with Tsuna pitching the balls and Yamamoto practicing his batting. Tsuna took record of the distance each ball traveled hit by the lighter bat, and when Yamamoto started practicing with his usual bat, he compared the distances between the balls. Mentally calculating the average, he nodded in satisfaction when the number rose. Yamamoto came over to him, curious.

Tsuna shoved the paper in his face. "Look at those numbers, Yamamoto," he said. "The average between the two is written at the bottom."

The baseball player's eyes immediately zoomed to the number at the bottom of the page, the gray pencil standing out starkly against the sheet of lined paper. His face split into a grin so wide, Tsuna was worried he might accidentally split his face in half.

The brunet squawked when Yamamoto suddenly crushed him into a bear hug. "Oi, I know you're excited, but I n-need to breathe," he wheezed, trying to wriggle out of Yamamoto's iron grip. The baseball player released him, but clapped his hands firmly on to Tsuna's shoulders.

"Tsuna, I can't thank you enough for helping me," Yamamoto said seriously, his hazel eyes boring into Tsuna's. "You're the only one who's been bothered to care so much. I think you deserve a reward. You can have dinner at my dad's sushi restaurant, on the house."

"You're sure?" Tsuna asked, surprised. But hey, it was a free meal, and if Yamamoto was offering, who was he to turn it down?

"Of course!" Yamamoto folded the paper and slipped it into his pocket. "My dad's chill, so if I tell him you helped me with my baseball practice, he'll definitely agree to give you a free meal."

Tsuna grinned. "I should call my mom to tell her I won't be home for dinner, but there's no way I'm going to miss out on free dinner," he said. "Good work today, Yamamoto. I know you had a bit of a hard time, but you've got to remember that nobody's perfect. People can tell you that you only need to put more effort in, but if you try too hard, you're going to end up hurting yourself. Take it easy, baseball's not going anywhere." Yamamoto nodded.

"Thanks, Tsuna," he replied. "I really needed to hear that." He gave the brunet a long, searching glance. "You know, you're a pretty cool guy. Despite my popularity, I don't actually have 'close' friends. From the way you helped me out today, I think you'd make a great friend. I'm sure my dad will like you, too. What do you say, Tsuna? Want to be friends?"

"Did you even have to ask?" Tsuna said, arching an eyebrow. He held out his fist. "Of course I'll be your friend. If you need some extra help with baseball practice, I'll be there. Now give me a fist bump."

Yamamoto laughed. "Friends it is!" They fist-bumped and grinned at each other. To Tsuna's immense relief, the shadows and stress lines that had previously decorated Yamamoto's face had vanished, leaving behind a genuine smile.

"Now how about that free dinner?" Tsuna asked, picking up his bag. "I don't have sushi that often, so I think it'll be a good change."

Before Yamamoto could reply, a familiar voice piped up, "Congratulations on gaining another member for your family, Baka-Tsuna."

Tsuna nearly jumped a foot in the air out of surprise. "Reborn! When did you get here?" he asked, glancing down at the miniature hitman standing on the grass at his feet. "Were you watching us the whole time?" He could have _sworn_ the baby was nowhere in sight during the game and during practice. Damn sneaky, gun-wielding babies.

Reborn smirked. "You should pay more attention to your surroundings, Baka-Tsuna," he chided. "If I was an assassin hired to kill you, you'd be dead right now."

"Whoa, the baby can talk! What a smart kid," said Yamamoto, smiling down at Reborn. His gaze sharpened, which pleased Reborn greatly. "And what was that about an assassin? Is someone after Tsuna's life?"

"Tsuna is the future tenth boss of the Vongola Famiglia," said Reborn, his eyes glinting. "Sooner or later assassins and hitmen from rival families will come looking for an opportunity to kill him."

"Vongola Famiglia? What's that?"

"A mafia family."

"Well, we can't have that happening," said Yamamoto, his hand tightening on the strap of his own bag. "That settles it. Tsuna! I'll be your right-hand man and make sure that you stay alive no matter what."

"Er, I've already got a right-hand man - "

"He can be the left arm. I'm going to be your right-hand man," said Yamamoto firmly.

Tsuna shrugged and picked Reborn up. He placed the baby hitman on his shoulder. "You and Gokudera-kun can dispute over that another time. Right now I'm hungry, and that free meal you offered sounds absolutely appealing."

* * *

**Well, here's your dose of Yamamoto. Originally I was going to combine Yamamoto and Hibari into the same chapter, but that last sentence seemed like such a nice place to stop that I decided to save Hibari for another chapter. Sorry about the delay, but I warned you. Next chapter will be Hibari, or Lambo, or both. And I'm not a baseball player, so forgive me if I used any inappropriate terminology.**

**Remember: reviews = motivation. Please leave one before you move on.**

**See you next time.**

**MangaFreak15**


	6. Chapter 5: A Date With Steel Tonfas

**We've already reached the 100-review mark?! Ohmygod. Thank you so much!**

**Warning: Gokudera has a potty mouth.**

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**Blazing Sky**

** Gen. fic, no pairings.**

**Features sarcastic!resentful!Tsuna.**

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**Summary:** Tsuna isn't stupid. He knows that construction workers usually aren't absent as long as his father is, and construction workers usually don't visit the South Pole to take pictures with penguins. He also knows that normal people can't conjure flames at will, yet he can. What's left is to wait and see, watch and learn. When Reborn goes to Namimori, he expected an idiot student, but found Sawada Tsunayoshi.

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**Chapter Five - A Date With Steel Tonfas**

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Suffice to say, Yamamoto's new declaration did not go over well with the residential bomber. It would be an understatement to say that Gokudera was angry. That was like saying the sun was bright or a girl's period cramps were a little bit painful. No, Gokudera was lightyears beyond _pissed_ that some no-name baseball freak who was too happy for his own good had the _gall_ to think he was good enough to be Tsuna's right-hand man and Gokudera was not.

"How dare you try to usurp my position as Juudaime's right-hand man!" the silver-haired student yelled loudly into Yamamoto's face as the baseball player arrived in front of Tsuna's house to walk him to school. Tiny flecks of spit flew out of his mouth as he yelled, but the bomber was too far gone in his Yamamoto-induced rage to notice.

The tall brunet calmly wiped his face clean and stared down at the irate mafioso. "With an attitude like that, it's no wonder I think you're not suited to be a right-hand man," said Yamamoto coolly. "I will be the right-hand. You can be the left."

"What did you say, you baseball freak?!" hissed Gokudera, pulling out dynamite from seemingly nowhere. "All you ever do is grin stupidly all day long and play baseball. What would you know about being the right-hand man of a mafia boss?"

Yamamoto waved off Gokudera's comments with a light-hearted laugh, although he kept a wary eye on the bomber's weapons. "Now, now, no need to have a tantrum over it," he said in a placating manner, which actually seemed to have the opposite effect on the transfer student. "You'll get plenty of recognition being the left hand, too."

"Like hell I will!" Gokudera exploded. "I'm Juudaime's chosen right-hand man! You're nothing but a hair on his head!" He didn't toss the dynamite, but from the way his hands were quivering in rage, he was about two seconds away from blasting the smiling brunet to smithereens.

"Fair enough, but if I'm just a strand of hair on his head, you can be a nose hair," Yamamoto replied, grinning. The bomber's face purpled in fury and he launched his handful of explosive sticks at the baseball player without a further thought, an enraged scream accompanying his action. Yamamoto just laughed at him and stepped backwards out of range.

He, however, forgot that Gokudera's dynamite could blast the street apart. Fortunately Reborn had been nearby when the two began their argument and severed the lit wicks from the sticks before they could impact the ground and cause mass destruction and property damage. The two looked towards Tsuna's house, where Reborn was casually perched on the surrounding wall. The green gun in the baby's hand was still smoking. Reborn's usual smirk was absent from his chubby face.

"Control yourself, Gokudera," the Arcobaleno ordered, his voice uncharacteristically cold. "As a member of Baka-Tsuna's family, losing your temper in public is rude and speaks ill of both the Famiglia and its boss."

Gokudera paled at Reborn's reprimand. He ducked his head and muttered apologetically, "Sorry, Reborn-san." He sent Yamamoto a heated glare. The baseball player replied with a sunny smile that made Gokudera want to punch him.

The front door opened and Tsuna walked out with his bag slung over his shoulder, snarfing down the last bites of his breakfast omelet. He looked up and spotted both Yamamoto and Gokudera standing in front of his gate, waiting for him so they could walk him to school. His eye twitched. Reborn hid a smirk.

"What are you both doing in front of my house?" Tsuna asked dryly, coming out and shutting the gate behind him. "I don't recall giving either of you my address and somehow you're still here. Have you been secretly stalking me without my knowledge?"

"I looked up your school records," said Gokudera, looking proud of himself.

"Sasagawa-senpai gave me directions," said Yamamoto, beaming.

"Of course he would," sighed Tsuna, hanging his head. Kyoko-chan's older brother Ryohei was always up at ungodly hours of the morning, running his daily laps around Namimori. As captain of the boxing club, he was a fighter by nature and his motto was to do everything 'to the _extreme_'. Tsuna could do without all that extreme-ness in his life, honestly. Kyoko-chan had confessed that sometimes she was embarrassed by her brother's enthusiastic way of life.

"You know Sasagawa-senpai?" Yamamoto asked curiously, before an understanding smile bloomed on his face. "Oh right, you're friends with his sister."

Tsuna nodded. "Come on, we better run or else we'll run into Hibari at the gates," he told them, taking off down the street. The two followed closely behind him, Gokudera shooting metaphorical lasers at Yamamoto with his eyes the whole time. The baseball player kept a carefree grin on his face and studiously ignored him.

When they reached the school gates, they were relieved to see that the gates were still open. However, Tsuna nearly face-faulted when he spotted Namimori Middle's demonic prefect leaning against one of the gates, his arms crossed. His black jacket with the red D.C. armband pinned to the left sleeve was loosely covering his shoulders. All the students that went through the school gates gave him a wide berth, fear and intimidation clearly expressed on their faces.

Tsuna attempted to stroll through and ignore the scary prefect, but Hibari's dark eyes immediately settled on him as he walked closer. Gokudera shot a threatening glare at the prefect, but it had no effect.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi," Hibari's voice rang out silkily. The brunet sighed and stopped a few yards away.

"Yes, Hibari-san?" he asked. Gokudera and Yamamoto both tensed and shifted so that both of them were slightly in front of him.

"Today you will meet me after school at my house, as proposed by that baby," the prefect said, straightening from his pose against the school gate. "If you do not know the address, you will meet me here and I will take you there. Your…" His eyes swiveled to Gokudera and Yamamoto, a faintly amused smirk, "…_dogs_ are not to follow you. Understood?"

"How dare you speak that way to Juudaime!" Gokudera spat, immediately fishing a handful of dynamite from one of his pockets.

Only Tsuna holding out an arm in front of him prevented the bomber from attacking the prefect. "Don't do it, Gokudera-kun," Tsuna said sharply, his eyes still trained on Hibari's. "He's stronger than you think he is. You wouldn't stand a chance."

"But - but he tried to order you around," Gokudera protested. "He should be dealt with properly."

"That's how he is. And he's not lying, Reborn told me that I'm supposed to spar with him every day as part of my training," replied Tsuna, dropping his arm.

"I still don't like it," the bomber declared stubbornly. "How can I protect you as your right-hand man if I can't be there?"

Yamamoto observed Hibari quietly, then turned to Tsuna. "As your real right-hand man, I am going to trust that Hibari will not turn you into pulp during your sparring sessions," he said. He clapped a hand on Tsuna's shoulder. "But Gokudera's right. We won't be able to help you if we're not there. Maybe we can be in the area, but not actually part of the fight itself. Is that alright with you, Hibari?"

"I don't trust that herbivore to behave in my house," said Hibari, gesturing to Gokudera with his head. The bomber reddened indignantly and looked ready to explode. "You, however, are welcome to spend your time with Kusakabe during our matches. But if you do anything to my house - " The prefect's eyes took on an unholy gleam, his steel tonfas flashing in the morning light, " - I will bite you to _death."_

Yamamoto laughed. "Of course I won't do anything, Hibari. It's your house, after all," he replied.

The prefect nodded. "Good," he said simply. The tonfas disappeared. "Now get to class, or I will bite you to death."

The three departed from the school gates and ran to their classroom. The bell rang as they got there, so Hana and Kyoko were unable to talk to them. Tsuna signaled that he'd tell them what happened after class. Kyoko smiled at him and nodded. Hana gave a reluctant sigh and turned her attention back to the chalkboard.

Class passed by quickly. Tsuna, as usual, slept right through it. Gokudera glared at the teacher when he called him out on his delinquent-like mannerisms, but managed to answer every single question thrown his way, much to the teacher's frustration. Yamamoto smiled away, cheerfully laughing whenever he got called on and didn't know the answer. The teacher sighed in exasperation and moved to a different student.

When the first class was finally over, Tsuna sat and stretched, yawning. Kyoko turned in her seat as Hana got up from her chair and approached them. Gokudera and Yamamoto also joined them.

"You were almost late today, Sawada-kun," said Hana, raising a brow. "Care to explain?"

"Was it Hibari-senpai?" asked Kyoko, checking him over for any visible injuries. Smiling when she didn't see any, she leaned back.

"Yeah, but he only wanted to tell me that I should meet him after school for our daily spar," replied Tsuna.

Gokudera's fists clenched at his sides. "I don't trust that bastard," he said, bringing his hands down on Tsuna's desk. "Even if Reborn-san said so, that evil smirk of his is definitely not trustworthy!"

"Now, now, Tsuna said he was telling the truth," said Yamamoto, elbowing Gokudera in the side. "See, this is why I should be the right-hand man. You don't believe what Tsuna says."

Gokudera wheeled on Yamamoto, his eyes burning furiously. "Damn it, you baseball freak, what part of 'I'm the right-hand man' do you not understand?!" he yelled, tempted to kick the taller boy.

"Oh, I understand perfectly," said Yamamoto, smiling. "But you don't seem to understand that I'm the real right-hand man, not you. You're a nose hair, remember?"

"Fuck you, you son of a bitch - "

Tsuna stood up abruptly, his chair screeching against the floor. "Yamamoto-kun, Gokudera-kun!" he said sharply, stopping their escalating argument instantly. Gokudera peered at him guiltily, his mouth shutting with a snap as he remembered Reborn's reprimand from earlier. Yamamoto gave him a sheepish smile and scratched the back of his head. Tsuna glared at both of them, barely remembering to keep a tight lid on his flames. "If you haven't noticed, this is a classroom. Stop fighting over the position or you'll end up hurting somebody. As it stands, _neither_ of you are my 'right-hand man', because this immaturity you're displaying over something as stupid as a future position when I'm not even the boss yet is annoying!" he barked, unaware that the entire class had gone silent.

Gokudera hung his head in shame. Yamamoto's smile looked a bit strained and a tad nervous. "Sorry, Tsuna," he said. "We didn't mean to anger you. We just want to make sure you're safe."

"I'm not a helpless child, Yamamoto-kun," said Tsuna, the steely edge vanishing from his voice. "I may be a boss-in-training, but what I need first and foremost are _friends_, not subordinates."

Gokudera looked lost when he mentioned 'friends'. "But Juudaime," he began. Tsuna shook his head and held up a hand to stop him.

"No, Gokudera-kun. I meant it," he said firmly. "Friends, not subordinates."

After what seemed like hours, Gokudera slowly nodded. The concept was still alien to him, having grown up in the mafia, but that didn't mean he couldn't learn to accept it.

Tsuna huffed and sat back down. He realized Hana and Kyoko were both staring at him in awe and surprise. "What?" he asked.

Hana regained her bearings. "Sawada-kun, you realize that everyone is staring at you, right?" she asked, waving her hand in the general direction of the class.

Bewildered, Tsuna looked around, flushing when he saw that Hana was right. "Uh, it was nothing, just a little tirade," he said quickly. "Get back to your own conversations, okay?"

They turned away, hesitantly talking to each other again, although a few students kept shooting him glances. Tsuna felt embarrassed, and slumped in his seat.

Kyoko tapped him on the shoulder and he turned to face her. "That was amazing, Tsuna-kun!" she exclaimed, beaming. "You were just like a boss, the way you scolded Gokudera-kun and Yamamoto-kun. I'm sure you'll be a great boss!"

"Er, thanks, Kyoko-chan," said Tsuna. He looked at the ceiling, wondering if Reborn was hiding up there.

"Down here, Baka-Tsuna," said Reborn, kicking Tsuna's shoe. Tsuna hissed quietly in pain and scooted his chair back to look at the baby hitman at his feet. Reborn gave him a pleased grin. "Good job getting your family back in line, Baka-Tsuna. You're shaping up well. I look forward to seeing the results of your spar with Hibari."

"Spartan tutor," Tsuna muttered under his breath. Reborn still heard him, and kicked him again. "Ow!"

"You should respect your betters," the baby hitman told him.

"Maybe _you_ should respect your elders," Tsuna shot back, rubbing his leg where Reborn had kicked him.

"I'm older than you, Baka-Tsuna," Reborn announced, leaping on to his desk.

Hana looked at the baby incredulously, then mouthed to Tsuna, 'Is he serious?'

Tsuna nodded and Hana shook her head. What had her friend gotten himself into?

"That's funny!" Kyoko giggled, patting Reborn on the head. "So how old are you?"

"I'm two," he chirped, blinking wide black eyes at the orange-haired girl.

"Oh, how cute! Of course you are." Kyoko nodded and patted him on the head again. Tsuna wanted to faceplant on his desk at her naiveté. Hana sighed and covered her face with one hand.

The door slid open and Nezu-sensei walked in, indicating that it was time for the second class to begin. Reborn disappeared the moment Tsuna turned to look, and the brunet knew the baby would find him after school. He settled in his seat for a boring review in preparation for the upcoming test. Maybe he should sleep through this class, too…

* * *

Hibari was waiting by the gates again when Tsuna and his friends exited the school building. Just like in the morning, the throngs of students exiting campus grounds were steering around Hibari as quickly as they could, none of them wanting to catch the attention of the school's bloodthirsty prefect and become a target for his tonfas.

"Be careful, Tsuna-kun," said Kyoko, smiling at him.

"Don't let Hibari beat you to a bloody pulp, you hear?" said Hana, linking her arm through Kyoko's. They waved one more time before setting off to Hana's house, intending to study there instead of Tsuna's place.

Hibari pushed off from the gate, the loose sleeves of his gakuran jacket fluttering around his elbows. "Are you ready, Sawada Tsunayoshi?" he asked.

"I'm coming, too! There's no way I trust Juudaime to be alone with you," growled Gokudera, scowling at the prefect.

"He won't be alone. I'll be there with Kusakabe-san," said Yamamoto brightly, stepping a little closer to Tsuna.

"I don't trust you either," grumbled Gokudera. "I'm coming with you no matter what, Juudaime."

Hibari's steel-gray eyes narrowed at the silver-haired bomber. "If you damage my house, I will bite you to death," he hissed, turning around. "Come, Sawada Tsunayoshi. I'm eager to see how our fight will play out when you use your flames."

The journey back to Hibari's house was relatively quiet, except for the few times when he veered off-course to dispatch thugs and delinquents who were disturbing the peace of Namimori. Surprisingly, Gokudera stayed quiet, opting to shoot glares at Hibari's back instead. Reborn was nowhere to be seen, but Tsuna wouldn't be surprised if they showed up at Hibari's place and the baby hitman was already there.

It didn't take long to reach Hibari's house, which looked surprisingly traditional. As Tsuna had predicted, Reborn was already perched on top of the gates at the entrance, his pet chameleon flicking a long, pink tongue out upon their arrival. Hibari stared at him impassively as he approached.

"Baby," he addressed the miniature hitman, stopping in front of his gates.

"Hibari," Reborn acknowledged, inclining his head. He hopped off the gates and stood to the side, waiting for them to enter. Hibari pushed them open and walked towards his house. The three students followed him.

"Reborn-san!" Gokudera greeted, picking him up from the ground. "Does Juudaime really have to spar with that bastard as part of his training?" He threw a poisonous look in Hibari's direction. The prefect scoffed at him, holding one of his tonfas up threateningly. The afternoon light danced on the blood-splattered steel.

"Hibari is strong. Sparring with Tsuna will hone both of their fighting abilities and improve battle prowess," Reborn replied. "As a subordinate and Tsuna's Storm Guardian, you should respect and support his decisions unless they are extremely idiotic. You are entitled to your opinion, Gokudera Hayato, but against an enemy, you must always remember to present a united front. It doesn't matter if you like Hibari or not - he is Tsuna's Cloud Guardian, and therefore your ally."

"What? That bastard is a Vongola Guardian?" choked Gokudera. "Why, Reborn-san?"

The baby looked at him, unimpressed. Gokudera walked after the other three, unwilling to admit that Tsuna was sparring with Hibari because he was currently considered the strongest Guardian. He was Juudaime's future right-hand man! That should mean that he was the strongest and most-trusted - right? But Juudaime had scolded him and the baseball freak that morning about their petty fighting over the position. Did that mean… he was going to make Hibari his right-hand man? Gokudera fervently hoped not. He would do anything and everything in his power to prove himself worthy of the golden position.

Kusakabe Tetsuya arrived sometime after them. By that time, Hibari had taken Tsuna and Reborn to his private training room, blocking out both Gokudera and Yamamoto. Gokudera had shouted and screamed obscenities at the closed, locked doors, but they had no effect. Eventually Yamamoto had to drag the bomber away so they could train undisturbed.

"Kyo-san is already sparring, I take it?" asked the Disciplinary Committee member.

"That's right," said Yamamoto, looking up from his homework. His papers had doodles of baseballs and baseball bats all over them because he didn't quite understand what the homework was about. Gokudera adamantly refused to teach him.

Kusakabe set his bag down to the side. "Would either of you like tea?" he offered. If they were staying until the spar was over, he might as well serve them refreshments.

Gokudera declined. Yamamoto asked if there was any milk instead. Kusakabe replied that, unfortunately, there was no milk at Hibari's house. The baseball player shrugged, asked for a glass of water instead, and went back to doodling on his homework.

After Kusakabe brought Yamamoto his water, the three of them settled back to wait until the spar was finished.

* * *

Tsuna dodged to the right as Hibari's tonfa flew towards his face, the steel rod impacting against the stone wall with a loud clang. Hibari spun the other tonfa towards him, which Tsuna gripped in one hand and shoved towards the floor, aiming to pull the prefect off-balance.

Hibari rolled with the movement, momentarily letting go of his tonfa so he could perform a mid-air spin with his legs. Tsuna blasted fire from his hands in order to launch himself out of range of Hibari's long legs. The prefect scooped his tonfa back up and charged, his elbows slightly flared out from his sides.

Tsuna read his movements and relied on his Hyper Intuition to guide him out of the way of Hibari's attacks. He ducked under Hibari's next swing and performed a half-circular leg sweep, which Hibari leaped over. He brought his tonfas down towards Tsuna's shoulders, but the brunet somersaulted forward, leaping out of his roll and on to his feet.

Hibari whirled and extended the elongated end of the tonfa, aiming for Tsuna's chin. Tsuna leaned backwards to escape the deadly strike, dropping to his hands and kicking Hibari at the underside of his jaw. The prefect wasn't able to dodge the blow, and it sent him momentarily reeling backwards. A small trickle of blood escaped from the corner of his lips, which he wiped off with his thumb. The bloodlust and excitement in his eyes had risen since the beginning of the spar.

"You're good, Sawada Tsunayoshi," he said, readying his tonfas again. "This is why I have wanted to fight you all this time."

Tsuna crouched lightly, burning orange eyes trained on Hibari's form so he could track the prefect's every movement and act accordingly. Hibari bent his knees and launched forward, sweeping his first tonfa forward in a decisive strike to Tsuna's face. The moment Tsuna attempted to grab his tonfa, the prefect swung the second one in a follow-up attack, forcing Tsuna to change tactics. The younger boy spun out of the way, leaving Hibari's tonfas to strike nothing but air.

Hibari growled and swung his arm 90 degrees, rotating his body with the movement to build momentum behind the strike. Tsuna barely rocked backwards to avoid getting hit. The end of the tonfa scraped lightly across his exposed cheek, but not enough to draw blood. If Hibari had had a chain that shot out of the end, his face would be a bloody mess right now.

Tsuna pondered on that last thought as his body went on auto-pilot, dodging and ducking under Hibari's movements and counterattacking with his own. A flaming uppercut caught the prefect in the same spot where Tsuna had kicked him earlier, but this time Hibari ignored the pain. Tsuna didn't draw back his arm in time, which left his side wide open. Hibari took advantage of that and let loose a vicious kick that sent the brunet flying towards the opposite wall.

Tsuna shot out flames behind him to minimize impact damage, his feet momentarily coming to rest on the cold surface. He grimaced a bit at the pain blooming in his side, but none of his ribs seemed to be broken or fractured. He pushed off the wall, rocketing towards his opponent with orange and yellow flames aiding his speed through the air.

Hibari was ready for him, and as Tsuna brought a flame-covered fist forward, the prefect blocked with one tonfa and struck out with the other. Tsuna nearly winced when his hand met cold steel, but didn't have time to worry about because he was forced to bend his body to a nearly impossible degree in order to evade the strike at his gut. He brought both his feet forward and attempted to plant them in Hibari's face. Hibari ducked, smashing his free tonfa against Tsuna's feet.

This time the brunet had to bite down on his lip to muffle his exclamation of pain. This was only a spar, but damn, Hibari didn't hold back! He rolled away, wincing as he attempted to clamber back on his feet. He tested them gingerly, breathing a sigh of relief when none of his bones appeared to be broken. It still hurt to stand though, so Tsuna used his flames to shoot up into the air.

Hibari leaped at him from the floor. Tsuna shot out of the way, kicking the prefect in the face as Hibari began to descend due to gravity. The fifteen year-old boy flew back down, forcefully impacting with an almighty crash as flesh met hard wood floor.

He was up again in a flash, his gray eyes narrowing at his airborne opponent. An ugly bruise marred the prefect's pale cheek, and he was determined to get revenge for it. Tsuna was content to remain in the air, where he had the advantage.

Hibari was about to launch his next attack when a gunshot rang out, stopping him in his tracks. Both he and Tsuna looked in the direction of the noise, Tsuna slowly lowering himself back to the floor.

"That's enough for today," said Reborn, stepping out of the corner where he had been watching the fight from. "Baka-Tsuna still needs time to do his homework."

Tsuna extinguished his flames, his eyes reverting back to their natural honey-brown color. Reborn's black eyes turned to him. "Tsuna, good work today. In your spar, did you notice anything that Hibari should improve on?" he asked.

The brunet automatically opened his mouth to say 'no', but snapped it shut when he remembered what he'd been thinking about earlier. He looked at Hibari, who was glaring at him, but otherwise making no move to attack him. "Hibari-san, during our spar, the end of your tonfa scratched my cheek. When that happened, I thought, 'what if you had something coming out of the end of your tonfa?' That would extend your attacking range, and you can surprise your opponents that way," Tsuna explained.

The prefect looked intrigued by the prospect. He looked at his tonfas, which were worn by years of use. Some of the blood stains had been there for so long, they were probably permanent. Maybe it was time to get new ones, and upgrade them in the process.

"I can procure a pair of tonfas with hidden compartments in them, if you'd like," Reborn suggested. "It's up to you what to fill the compartments with."

"As long as you don't use anything spiky or hooked during our spars," Tsuna hastily added.

Hibari nodded, his calm expression belying the excitement racing through his whole body at the idea of upgraded tonfas. He'd known for a while that his tonfas didn't have as wide a range as he would have liked, but he hadn't known what to do about it. Sawada Tsunayoshi's input greatly helped with that.

"I'm tired," Tsuna said, rubbing his side tenderly. "And bruised. Gokudera-kun is going to bury me alive in bandages and bruise salve."

Reborn smirked at the image. "If you don't want bruises, you need to be faster, Baka-Tsuna," he said.

Tsuna rolled his eyes. "I know, I know, Reborn. But it's not like I can suddenly go at the speed of light, you know," he said. "That would be like telling a pencil to tap dance!"

Reborn kicked him in the head.

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**Hey, look! I told you reviews would motivate me. Hibari got a nice, decently-sized chapter (4500+ words) even though the spar didn't run on that long. As for Hibari's tonfas, I'm operating on the assumption that Hibari had normal tonfas in the beginning, then got them upgraded in preparation for the fight against Mukuro and the Varia. When I did my research on them, apparently Hibari didn't reveal "hidden compartments" in his tonfas until chapter 43, when he used hooks against Yamamoto. That's after Fuuta appears (which means he already had upgraded tonfas against Mukuro, although I'm not sure if it was just hooks or the whole shebang with flails and spikes like what he used against Belphegor).**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Remember: reviews = motivation. Please leave one before you move on.**

**See you next time.**

**MangaFreak15**


	7. Chapter 6: The Cowspawn From Hell

**Be prepared for cows and general mayhem.**

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**Blazing Sky**

** Gen. fic, no pairings.**

**Features sarcastic!resentful!Tsuna.**

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**Summary:** Tsuna isn't stupid. He knows that construction workers usually aren't absent as long as his father is, and construction workers usually don't visit the South Pole to take pictures with penguins. He also knows that normal people can't conjure flames at will, yet he can. What's left is to wait and see, watch and learn. When Reborn goes to Namimori, he expected an idiot student, but found Sawada Tsunayoshi.

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**Chapter Six - The Cowspawn From Hell**

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Tsuna had predicted correctly. The moment he and Hibari left the training room, the silver-haired bomber immediately zoomed to his side with a first-aid kit and began to examine him for injuries. Yamamoto and Kusakabe appeared a few seconds later, the former holding towels and the latter holding two water bottles.

"Here, Tsuna, Hibari," said Yamamoto, handing each a towel.

"Thanks, Yamamoto," replied Tsuna, mopping the sweat from his face with the clean towel. His body was still thrumming with heat from the spar, so he turned and took the cold water bottle that Kusakabe handed to him. Unscrewing the cap deftly, he placed the edge against his lips and began to gulp down the refreshing water with gusto. Hibari drank his water at a more sedate pace, his towel slung over his neck to catch the sweat at the back.

"So how was the spar?" asked Yamamoto. The boys had retreated to the room near the entrance where Yamamoto had been doing his homework. Several sheets of binder paper littered the table, all of them displaying a doodle or three of baseballs and bats. Tsuna nearly sweatdropped when he saw them.

"It was good," answered Tsuna, sitting down and draining the rest of the water from the bottle. "I'll be a walking bruise by the end of the week, though."

At this, Gokudera shot a pointed glare at Hibari, which he ignored.

"Every day, you will spar with Hibari just like that," said Reborn, hopping on to his student's head and seating himself in Tsuna's nest of hair. "Even on weekends." Tsuna wanted to groan.

Reborn whacked his student on the head, prompting a familiar pained cry to emit from Tsuna's mouth. "Don't whine," he ordered. "Or I will make you spar with Hibari all day." Tsuna paled and kept quiet.

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The next day, the residents of Namimori were treated to a very odd sight. A little boy wearing a cow suit, with a huge black afro around his head, was skipping and balancing on top of the low wall surrounding people's houses. He tilted one way, then the other, singing to himself, "Who are you? I am Lambo! Who am I? You are Lambo!" and didn't seem to care that people were giving him strange looks.

Then the cow boy laughed aloud obnoxiously, declaring to the sky, "Are you ready, Reborn? Be prepared to meet the great Lambo-san!" He continued down the street, singing to himself again.

Back at Tsuna's house, Hana, Kyoko, Tsuna, Yamamoto, Gokudera, and Reborn were all crowded together in Tsuna's room. Hana, Reborn, and Tsuna had banded together in an attempt to tutor Yamamoto, but the baseball player didn't seem to understand any of the concepts. Gokudera's long-winded explanations confused even Hana, so they unceremoniously banned him from tutor duties.

Kyoko stood up, stretching her arms. "Is anyone thirsty? I'll go get some water," she said, surveying the room.

"There are water bottles in the fridge, Kyoko-chan," said Tsuna. "Thanks."

"Sure," said Kyoko, smiling. She left the room to bring refreshments back to the study group.

"Yamamoto, are you even trying at all?" asked a frustrated Hana. Even Tsuna wasn't this hard to tutor!

Yamamoto laughed and scratched the back of his head. "It makes more sense, but I still don't get it," he said. "Maybe one more time?"

Hana let out a long-suffering sigh and flipped the pages of the textbook back to the beginning of the chapter. "If you don't get it after this, I give up," she grumbled.

"See, Juudaime? The baseball freak doesn't have an ounce of intelligence," growled Gokudera, shooting Yamamoto pointed glares. "This is why I should be your right-hand man."

"While that may be true, a right-hand man isn't picked based solely on his intelligence," Tsuna pointed out. "Besides, haven't I already said that neither of you are currently candidates for the position? Unless you can prove to me that you're suitable for it, I'm only going to consider you two as my friends and Vongola guardians, nothing more."

"I apologize for my rude behavior, Juudaime," said Gokudera, getting on his knees and bowing till his forehead touched the floor. "It was most unbecoming of a member of the Vongola Famiglia."

"You don't have to keep bowing to me, Gokudera-kun," sighed Tsuna, touching Gokudera on the shoulder. "We're friends, aren't we? I would rather you call me 'Tsuna' than 'Juudaime.'"

Gokudera looked like a kicked puppy. "But… but…" His mind flashed through all the rules he had memorized during his time in Italy growing up in the mafia. "It's disrespectful! I can't just call you by your name so casually - you're my boss."

"But first and foremost I should be your _friend_," said Tsuna firmly, looking eyes with the bomber. "Do you understand, Gokudera-kun? I know that the mafia world is a harsh place, but I would like people who support me not because I'm their boss, but because they like _me._ Just me, Sawada Tsunayoshi, not Vongola Juudaime."

Gokudera swallowed. "I… I'll try, Juuda - I mean, Tsuna-sama," he said. Well, it was better than 'Juudaime'. "Then, if we're friends - w-would you mind calling me 'Hayato', Tsuna-sama?" The bomber sat up, looking hopeful.

"I don't mind," said Tsuna, smiling. "Then from now on, I will call you 'Hayato-kun'." The ecstatic smile on the bomber's face seemed to light up the whole room. From Tsuna's desk, Reborn looked proud of his student. Tsuna truly was a wonder to engage with. He would change the mafia world for the better, and restore Vongola to its former glory as primarily a vigilante group, rather than a mafia family. He couldn't have asked for a better student.

"Whoa!" came Yamamoto's voice behind them. "Hey, Tsuna! There's a cow outside your window!"

Tsuna took a moment to digest Yamamoto's words. _There's a _what _outside my window?_ He thought, turning. What he saw made him want to facepalm.

It wasn't literally a cow, per se, but a little boy dressed up in a cow suit and pointing a gun towards the window - directly at Reborn. The hitman ignored him though. Instead, he looked at Tsuna and said, "You're shaping up nicely as a boss, Baka-Tsuna. Loyalty to the boss is a good thing to inspire in subordinates."

"Die, Reborn!" said the cow boy, pulling the trigger. Tsuna braced himself for an explosion of glass.

But nothing happened. The cow boy looked confused for a moment, then an epiphany seemed to hit him because he tucked the gun back into his hair. Tsuna didn't want to know how he did that.

"I'm back!" Kyoko announced, opening the door. "Nana-san made some snacks for us, too."

"Thanks, Kyoko-chan," said Tsuna, getting up to help her distribute the snacks and refreshments.

Kyoko saw the weird cow kid outside the window and squealed. "Oh wow, what an adorable kid!" she gushed, going over to the window and opening it. "What's your name, honey?"

Tsuna and Hana traded incredulous glances. How on Earth Kyoko could think a kid with a cow fetish was adorable was completely beyond them.

"I'm not adorable!" the cow boy declared, standing on the branch and posing arrogantly. "I'm the great and powerful Lambo-san, five year-old hitman from the Bovino Famiglia, and on a mission to kill Re - " But before he could finish, the fragile branch snapped beneath his weight, sending the kid plummeting to the ground with a surprised shriek.

Kyoko gasped. "Oh no, is he okay?" she asked, peering over the edge of the sill. She smiled in relief when the kid popped up with nary a scratch, just a few leaves and twigs stuck in his bushy afro. He raced around the corner of the house, presumably to the front door.

"Kyoko-chan, you're not going to bring him inside, are you?" Tsuna deadpanned, settling in his chair. "A cow kid toting a gun is just asking for trouble."

"I'm sure he's just playing around, Tsuna-kun," said Kyoko, sliding the window shut.

"Kyoko-chan, I don't think the gun he was holding was fake," said Hana. "People these days! Who would dare to give a five year-old a gun? They could shoot themselves on accident."

"Most likely he's already been trained not to do that," said Tsuna, uncapping his water bottle. "You heard him - he's a hitman from a mafia family."

"Our lives are never going to be normal again," Hana groaned.

"Your lives weren't normal since you met me," Tsuna said cheekily. He dodged the pencil that was tossed at his head.

"Haha! I think he was funny!" said Yamamoto cheerfully, doodling another baseball on his homework. Hana gave him the evil eye when she saw it.

"A hitman from the Bovino family?" muttered Gokudera, brow furrowed lightly. "He's not like you, is he, Reborn-san?"

"The Bovino Famiglia is a minor family in the mafia world," replied Reborn. "I don't associate with those kinds of low-status people. You can just ignore him."

_Right…_ Tsuna sweatdropped as the faint chime of the doorbell rang and Kyoko was instantly out the door, wondering if the weird cow kid wanted to come inside. Heaven help him now. If the cow boy hid a gun inside his hair, what else could he possibly be hiding in there?

Because Kyoko left the door open, they could hear what was happening downstairs. Apparently no one had been at the door when Nana opened it. Moments later, the cow kid charged into the room, almost running right into Gokudera.

"Ah! A silver octopus!" The boy cried, scooting away from Gokudera.

"Why, you! This is my hair, you shitty cow brat!" growled Gokudera, leaning over to grabbing him by the back of his cow suit. He missed, because at that moment Lambo tripped and went crashing headfirst into the wall.

"G…gotta tolerate it…" he hiccupped, shakily standing back up. "Ooh, what did I trip on? I'm the great Lambo-san from the Bovino Famiglia in Italy! I just tripped!" He turned around, sniffling once. His eyes zeroed in on Reborn, completely ignoring everyone else in the room. "Reborn! Long time no see. It's me, Lambo!"

Reborn completely ignored him, choosing instead to hop over to Yamamoto and Hana. "Remember this formula, Yamamoto," he ordered, pointing to something on the page the textbook was currently open to. "Now, if you plug in these numbers to the correct spots, the answer would be…?"

Hana snuck a look towards Lambo, who was scowling. "Don't ignore me! I'll kill you!" he screamed, rushing towards the baby hitman. Tsuna jerked back as Reborn's arm flashed out and knocked Lambo into the wall again. Then he continued to guide Yamamoto through the question.

"Haha, I see! That makes a lot of sense. The answer is seven, right?" said Yamamoto cheerfully. "But you know, you shouldn't bully other kids!"

"That's correct," said Reborn. "But you've got one thing wrong: I'm not bullying him. He's just a member of a weak family that I have no business with."

"Besides, that shitty cow brat just tried to attack Reborn-san!" said Gokudera. "He was just defending himself."

"Well, unlike Reborn, it appears that kid is actually a kid, five years old in both mind and body," said Hana. She didn't like children much - they were always so loud and noisy and annoying to deal with.

"Tsuna-kun, did the boy come up here?" asked Kyoko, walking back into the room. "Oh!" She spotted the cow kid getting back to his feet and immediately went over to him. "Hello! Are you hurt?"

"L-Lambo-san is fine," the kid mumbled. "And I'm not adorable." He turned to face Reborn again. "Fufu, this time the boss let me borrow lots of weapons! You're going down, Reborn!" To the shock of the people in the room (excluding Reborn), the kid pulled a whole _bazooka_ out of his gigantic afro. And to top things off, the bazooka was _purple._ That was definitely a warning sign that the bazooka wasn't quite normal.

_How is that even possible?_ Tsuna screamed mentally. He really hoped the kid didn't completely trash his room. As gullible as his mother was, he had no doubt she would be displeased if his room got wrecked and they had to pay to repair it.

"Tada! This is the Ten-Year Bazooka!" Lambo announced, showing it off. "Whoever is shot with this is switched with their ten-years-older self for five minutes!"

"How cool!" said Kyoko, smiling.

"Ten years older? Haha, that sounds awesome," laughed Yamamoto. "You've sure got some fancy toys, kid."

"That's not a toy, baseball freak," growled Gokudera. "I'd heard rumors that the Bovino Famiglia had managed to make something like that, but I didn't think it was true!"

"Hehehe, not so tough are you now, octopus?" said Lambo, smirking. Gokudera twitched and turned to him with a murderous look.

"What did you say, you damn cow?" he yelled, making a grab for him.

Lambo stuck his tongue out and nimbly dodged out of the way. "But boss says I shouldn't use it because it's just a sample," he grumbled, tucking the bazooka back into his hair. Tsuna theorized that Lambo's afro was so large because it contained a dimensional weapons pocket and that was how he managed to hide so many strange things in it. In fact...

"Look at what I found!" Lambo said, grinning at Reborn. In his hands, he held a pink hand grenade.

"A hand grenade?!" Hana gasped.

"Wow, it looks so real!" said Yamamoto.

"Don't you dare destroy Tsuna-sama's house!" yelled Gokudera, bringing out a fistful of dynamites. Tsuna facepalmed. Both hand grenades and dynamite sticks were equally dangerous and could demolish parts of his room.

"Oh my, so energetic!" said Kyoko, clapping her hands together.

"Die, Reborn!" shouted Lambo, hurling the grenade at the impassive hitman.

With yet another single strike, Reborn hit the grenade away from him. It smacked straight into Lambo, sending him flying into the window. The hand grenade then exploded, shattering Tsuna's window.

"Damn it, Reborn!" said Tsuna. "Mom's going to be so mad at me."

"Fix it yourself," ordered Reborn, smirking at his student. "It's not my fault your window was closed."

Sometimes Tsuna wished he could toss Reborn out the window, too.

"Tsu-kun! Come here, please!" Nana's voice called from downstairs.

"Coming!" he called back. He looked at his friends. "You guys can eat the rest of the snacks while I'm gone."

"Thanks, Tsuna!" Yamamoto happily munched down, making sure not to get crumbs on his homework.

"And if you don't mind, can you help clean up the glass? I'm going to have to pay for a replacement with my savings," Tsuna grumbled.

"Just leave it to us, Sawada-kun," said Hana, standing up.

"Of course! Anything for Tsuna-sama!" said Gokudera, hiding his dynamite.

Tsuna left the room. "Yeah, Mom? Do you need me for something?" he asked, spotting his mom standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"This is Lambo-kun," she said, gesturing to the dirty, teary-eyed kid tightly fisting her skirt. "He's Reborn-kun's friend, isn't he? Please make sure they get along."

"Yes, Mom," Tsuna sighed, going down the stairs to bring Lambo back up. He knew it would a futile effort; Reborn had already said that he didn't associate with lower-ranked mafioso. "Hey, Lambo. I'm Tsuna. Come on, I'll help you get cleaned up, okay?"

Lambo sniffled, but allowed himself to be towed up the stairs by Tsuna. Unlike Reborn, this person was being nice to him. He'd trust this person for now, but if he turned out to be a meanie like Reborn, he was going to attack him, too.

He almost made a run for it when he saw the bathtub, but Tsuna quickly caught him and closed and locked the door. "You're dirty, and Mom would be mad if I didn't make an effort to clean you up," said Tsuna, filling the bath. He rummaged around the cupboard under the sink, wondering if his mom had kept a bottle of bath bubbles that he'd used when he was still a little kid.

"Lambo-san doesn't want to take a bath," the boy said, latching himself tightly onto Tsuna's leg.

Aha, found it. Tsuna squirted a bit under the spray and instantly the bath was foaming at the surface with bubbles. "Look, it's not a regular bath. Don't you want to play with bubbles?" asked Tsuna, trying to get his new personal barnacle off. "If you take a bath now, I'll give you candy later. You like candy, right?"

Lambo unstuck himself. "Candy!" he whispered, his wide eyes shining. Immediately he shed his dirty outfit and hopped into the tub, splashing water and bubbles everywhere. Tsuna smiled as he leaned back to avoid getting bubbles in his eyes. Looks like the kid never learned the rule 'don't take candy from strangers'.

He picked up the dirty outfit as Lambo had fun splashing about in the tub, and wondered what he should do with it. He didn't have any outfits that were Lambo's size, but he also didn't want the kid to run around naked while his cow suit was being laundered. Then a thought occurred to him: if his mom had kept the partially empty bottle of bath bubbles, who's to say she didn't keep his baby clothes, as well?

"Lambo, is this the only outfit you have?" Tsuna asked, kneeling in front of the bathtub.

The kid stopped splashing for a moment as he turned his attention to Tsuna. He nodded. "Lambo-san likes cows," he said. "Lambo-san likes that outfit and doesn't want to wear a different one." Well, there went his plan of fitting Lambo in any of his kiddie clothes Nana might have saved.

"But it's dirty. Before you wear again, we need to wash it," said Tsuna.

"Lambo-san doesn't care. Lambo-san can run around naked."

"That's not polite, especially when you're in someone else's house."

The kid blew him a raspberry, pulling down the skin at the bottom of his eye. Lambo was lucky that Tsuna didn't have Gokudera's temper, otherwise he'd be flying out the door, bubbles and all.

"Say, Lambo," Tsuna began as he shampooed the boy's curly mane, "why are you trying to kill Reborn, anyway?"

"Lambo-san's dream is to become the boss of the Bovino Famiglia and make humanity bow down to me," replied Lambo, squirming. Tsuna had to tilt his head back so the foamy shampoo didn't accidentally fall into the kid's eyes. Meanwhile, he was thinking, _That's a pretty far-fetched dream for a kid. With a lofty goal like that, I wouldn't be surprised if he became a dictator when he grew up._ Lambo continued, "But the boss told me that I have to defeat super first-class hitman Reborn."

_Super first-class?_ Tsuna wasn't even aware there was a class like that. "If he's super first-class, why would your boss send you to kill him? Reborn outclasses you by miles," he said. _As if they wanted to get rid of him… They were putting hopes on Reborn to kill him so they wouldn't have to deal with him anymore? That's low, _Tsuna thought, scowling.

Lambo sniffled. "D-don't say that. Lambo-san will definitely beat Reborn one day!" he said, splashing the water.

"Hey, hold still. You wouldn't want to get shampoo in your eyes, right?" said Tsuna. "Close your eyes, I'm going to rinse your hair out." He checked to make sure Lambo's eyes were actually closed before he dumped water over the kid's head. "Okay, you can open them again."

"You believe Lambo-san, don't you?" Lambo asked, twisting to look at Tsuna.

"It's not that I don't believe you, but Reborn is very strong. You'll have to train for years before you can beat him," said Tsuna. "Even I probably can't match up to him, and I'm the future boss of Vongola."

Lambo gasped. "You're the next boss of the Vongola Famiglia?" he asked. Tsuna nodded. Lambo pouted. "No fair! I want to be the next boss of the Bovino Famiglia now! Now! Then I could order that stupid meanie Reborn around and laugh as he bows down to me, the great Lambo-san! Gyahahaha!"

_Like that's ever going to happen,_ Tsuna thought silently. He'd let the kid live in his own delusions of grandeur for now. It was good to dream big at five years old, especially growing up in the mafia. The fact that the kid could indulge in such outlandish dreams meant that Lambo hadn't lost his childish innocence yet.

After cleaning up - Tsuna dusted off Lambo's cow suit the best he could, but it still looked like it could use a good run through the washer - they headed downstairs for dinner. Tsuna's friends were already seated at the table.

"You're late, Baka-Tsuna," said Reborn. "Hurry up or I'll eat your portion, too."

"Don't you dare!" said Tsuna, momentarily forgetting about Lambo in order to save his food from the clutches of his evil tutor.

"Lambo-kun, you can sit next to Reborn-kun," said Nana, hoisting the little boy up to the chair. "Be nice to each other, okay?"

"Yes, Maman," said Reborn, although Tsuna could tell he had absolutely no intention of doing so.

"Well, I'm going out for a little bit," said Nana. "Take care of the kids, Tsu-kun! Hana-chan and Kyoko-chan agreed to help you."

"Okay, Mom," Tsuna replied. Nana smiled and left the house, humming a light, cheery tune.

But the moment she was gone, Lambo threw his dinner knife at Reborn, shouting, "Take this, Reborn!" As expected, Reborn batted it back with his spoon and the knife point sliced through Lambo's forehead.

"That's dangerous!" Hana said, standing abruptly from her chair.

"Oh no! Reborn-chan, you shouldn't play with knives like that!" Kyoko chided, getting up to get a wet paper towel to wipe Lambo's forehead with.

But apparently the shock of having his forehead sliced open was too much for Lambo. He shrieked in agony and leaped out of his chair, pulling the purple bazooka from his hair. Pink smoke enveloped the little boy and his tiny form vanished. Instead, it was replaced by a taller silhouette.

When the smoke cleared, Tsuna's jaw dropped. _Holy shit!_

Five year-old Lambo had turned into _fifteen_ year-old Lambo. And if that wasn't enough to clue a person in on how much a person could have changed, the fact that Lambo had turned into a fairly handsome teenager who had one eye closed made even Hana's and Gokudera's jaws fall to the floor. But the cow-print shirt peeking out from beneath his black jacket indicated that Lambo was still obsessed with cows, however strange that was.

"My, my, seems I've gone back ten years," said the older Lambo. "It's been a while since I've seen you, young Vongola Decimo. Thank you for taking care of me."

"Wow, that is so cool!" said Yamamoto, laughing. "I want to try that bazooka! Then you guys can tell me what my older self is like."

Tsuna continued to gape at the older Lambo. Teenage Lambo sighed and said, "I'm afraid it's not a good time for that, young Takeshi-nii. I can't tell you about the future, but what I want to say is this: don't ever give up, _no matter what_." He looked so serious and completely different from the childish Lambo they knew that everyone was taken aback. Reborn was the only one who maintained a calm expression.

Tsuna snapped out of his daze first. "Did something happen big happen ten years from now, Lambo?" he asked.

"I can't tell you," said teen Lambo, shaking his head. "It would change the future as I know it."

"I see," said Tsuna. "You can stay in the past for five minutes, right?"

"That's right. The Ten-Year Bazooka switches a person with their future self ten years from now for five minutes," replied teen Lambo. "It's already been about two minutes, so…" He turned to Reborn, who was still calmly munching on his dinner. "Hey, Reborn. It's me, Lambo, the one you kept ignoring."

Reborn didn't once glance in the teenager's direction. _He's still ignoring him,_ Tsuna thought, sweatdropping. _Is the Bovino Famiglia really that low in rank?_

"As expected from Reborn," said teen Lambo with a half-exasperated, half-fond smile. "Still ignoring me, huh? I'd prove myself to you, but knowing you, you'd probably stab me with your fork or something." Although Reborn gave no indication that he'd heard him, Lambo believed that Reborn hadn't missed a word. He turned back Tsuna.

"You're not trying to kill Reborn anymore?" asked Tsuna.

"I have better things to do than fight with one of my allies, young Vongola Decimo," said teen Lambo, mussing his hair a bit. "Now then, time's almost up, so… remember my warning, young Vongola Famiglia. Don't you dare give up. And take good care of my kid self, okay?"

Gokudera crossed his arms. "Why should we, you idiot cow? You've caused enough trouble for us, breaking Tsuna-sama's window with your grenade!" he growled.

Teen Lambo laughed. "Same old octopus, I see," he said, grinning as the bomber looked murderous. "I know I was an annoying little mooch when I was younger, but thanks for putting up with me anyway. Take care, Ahodera!"

"Why, you - !" Gokudera screamed, leaping forward to throttle the laughing teenager. Teen Lambo disappeared in a burst of pink smoke before Gokudera's hands could close around his throat, leaving a sniffling five year-old behind. Gokudera nearly tripped over him.

Hana finally regained her voice. "You mean that annoying cow kid - " she began, pointing at the miserable boy sitting on the floor, " - turns into that _dandy?"_ She sounded incredulous.

"Guess so," said Tsuna, shrugging. "Who would've thought, huh?"

"Ten years is a long time," said Kyoko, going over to pick Lambo up. "There, there, you're okay now. Want to eat the rest of your dinner?"

"Lambo-san wants candy," the kid sniffed, wiping his eyes.

Oh, right. Tsuna went to one of the cupboards and took out a grape-flavored candy. "Here, Kyoko-chan. I'm not sure if he likes grape flavor, but - "

"Lambo-san loves grape candy!" the kid announced, his eyes going wide and sparkling. "Lambo-san wants grape candy!"

Tsuna laughed and tossed the candy to Kyoko, who caught it and gave it to Lambo. The kid sighed in bliss when the taste of grape-flavored candy washed over his tongue. Kyoko carried him back to the table and the group went back to their meals. Nana came back just as they finished, and she volunteered to clean up while the group returned upstairs to study and do homework.

As the five students settled in Tsuna's room, Reborn hopped on to Tsuna's desk. Although he wasn't fond of Lambo, the teenager's warning sounded too ominous to dismiss.

_Don't ever give up, no matter what._

Something major must have happened sometime in the future. Whatever it was, Tsuna and his guardians needed to be prepared for it. Reborn tilted the brim of his fedora down. Even if he wasn't officially part of Vongola, he would do everything in his power to protect the Famiglia. The Vongola was his home and beloved family, no matter how much he denied it.

He looked at Tsuna and his friends, happily chatting away over homework and various other topics. Lambo was still enjoying his grape candy. He couldn't allow these kids to go into the mafia unprepared, or they were doomed.

Maybe he should step up the training. Just a bit.

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**Wow, I did not expect for Lambo's chapter to run on so long. Sorry I didn't update earlier; I got hit with a dose of real life. In between shopping for school supplies, work, painting commissions, and a stomach bug that may have been food poisoning (threw up periodically for 4 hours), it was kind of hard to write this chapter. But now it's out! Personally, I hate grape-flavored candy.**

_**And the plot thickens.**_** Or so they say, haha. Remember: reviews = motivation!**

**See you next time.**

**MangaFreak15**


	8. Chapter 7: Beware the Poison Scorpion

**Scorpion incoming! I can't believe we already have over 500 people following this story. Please continue to support it!**

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**Blazing Sky**

** Gen. fic, no pairings.**

**Features sarcastic!resentful!Tsuna.**

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**Summary:** Tsuna isn't stupid. He knows that construction workers usually aren't absent as long as his father is, and construction workers usually don't visit the South Pole to take pictures with penguins. He also knows that normal people can't conjure flames at will, yet he can. What's left is to wait and see, watch and learn. When Reborn goes to Namimori, he expected an idiot student, but found Sawada Tsunayoshi.

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**Chapter Seven – Beware the Poison Scorpion**

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"Reborn! Are you trying to kill me?!" shrieked Tsuna, ducking under another ball hurtling towards his face at lightning speed. The solid object shot through the wire fence and embedded itself into a thick tree directly in its path. The tree shuddered, but luckily remained upright.

"Yes," Reborn replied cheerfully, shooting another round of golf balls at his student. The brunet dove under the initial wave, but then Reborn began firing at random. Up, down, left, right - no direction was safe from the deadly golf balls. Tsuna yelped as one slammed into his shoulder, tilting him him off balance and sending him tumbling to the ground. His shoulder throbbed in pain, but Tsuna forced himself to tolerate it as much as possible. If he hesitated even one moment, more of those hellish balls would find him. If that happened, well... cue a positive feedback loop, only in a cycle of bruises.

"You're too slow, Baka-Tsuna," said Reborn, rapidly shooting out more golf balls. Where the hell did the gun-wielding baby get all these balls, anyway?

"You're just a sadistic spartan tutor who likes to see me suffer," Tsuna sniped back, hurriedly flattening himself to the ground to avoid the spray of golf balls that were fired at his head. One of them just barely skimmed the top of his hair. Some training! Because of teenage Lambo's ominous warning about the future, Reborn decided that increasing the training regimen beyond human limits was an excellent idea. No one was spared from his evil infant hands, not even Kyoko and Hana. Tsuna didn't want them to deal with the mafia, but they were already targets by way of association with him, the future boss of Vongola. So, Reborn reasoned logically, that would mean that the girls should be able to sufficiently defend themselves if they were attacked in the future. While it made absolute sense at the time, barely a couple hours into the training and Hana was cursing Reborn's very existence.

Tsuna stepped on one of the abandoned golf balls lying in the grass and slipped, falling flat on his back and gaining another bruise where the golf ball met his back. He winced, then rolled to the side a second before another ball impacted the ground where his chin had just been. He was breathing hard from the insane excursion and all the energy he'd spent avoiding the hellish balls was starting to slow his body down. His muscles were screaming at him to have mercy on them. Unfortunately Reborn didn't count a training session as 'over' until he personally said it was over. Which meant Tsuna would have to continue until he either collapsed or Reborn stopped. At this rate, the former was more likely than the latter. Damn his spartan tutor for making him do this without the use of his flames!

Yamamoto and Gokudera were resting at their own houses, having already been put through their own custom training regimens from hell. Even Yamamoto, the cheerful person everybody knew him as, was exhausted to the point of being unable to crack a simple smile. Yes, it was universally agreed upon (or at least, it was agreed upon by Tsuna and his friends) that Reborn didn't know the meaning of 'breaks'. The only person who had been spared from training so far was Lambo, but that's probably because he got a dose of hell every day from both being ignored by Reborn and having his own weapons sent back at him when he threw them at said baby.

The whistle of another volley of balls cut through the air, and Tsuna readied himself to jump aside. He would have, if his legs hadn't decided at that moment that enough was enough and completely gave out underneath him. As he toppled to the ground, watching with wide eyes as the balls headed towards him in seemingly slow motion, he muttered, "Shit." Then his world erupted into an explosion of pain and he momentarily blacked out.

A tiny hand lightly slapping his cheek brought him back to consciousness. "Wake up, Baka-Tsuna," said Reborn. "Your training's over for today. You're such a wimp, collapsing like that."

Tsuna groaned, "Fuck you, Reborn. It's your fault, damn it." Reborn whacked him on the head.

"Watch your language," the baby scolded. "Otherwise I'll tie you to a tree and pelt you with balls for the next four hours."

Tsuna wisely kept his mouth shut. He closed his eyes again, letting out a quiet sigh. The adrenaline in his body was beginning to fade now that he was no longer training, and as it disappeared, all the bruises and aches he acquired over the course of the last few hours made themselves known. He probably couldn't get up if he tried. It felt so nice to lie there in the grass, feeling the light breeze on his face. Since it was nearly dinnertime, the warmth of the afternoon sun had long since vanished. Tsuna almost felt as though he could lie there forever and not give a damn about the world. Too bad that couldn't happen.

"Say, Reborn," Tsuna spoke up, his eyes still shut.

"What?" There was a slight rustle next to his ear as Reborn sat down with his back against Tsuna's cheek.

"What do you think happened in the future to make Lambo give us that warning?" the brunet asked.

The baby was silent. Tsuna opened his eyes, gazing up absently at the lovely purple and orange clouds dotting the twilight sky. Admittedly it scared him a bit, especially because while he had a warning for something major occurring in the future, he didn't know what that event was. There were many major things that could happen over the course of one's lifetime. The only information he had was that it was something that occurred in ten years. In ten years, he would be only twenty-four years old. But, he speculated, by then it was possible that he had already become Vongola Decimo. The don of the Vongola Famiglia was bound to have an inordinate amount of enemies - Lambo had mentioned that they should never "give up" - and hostage situations were bound to occur. What a messed up world the mafia was.

He turned his attention back to Reborn as the Arcobaleno began to speak, "Don't worry so much about it, Baka-Tsuna. The future isn't set in stone. We know nothing of the event that idiot cow mentioned, so the best we can do is to prepare for it. You should carve your own future, Tsuna."

"Yeah, you're right," Tsuna agreed, relaxing. Despite the tutor's hellish tendencies and spartan ways, Reborn could be comforting in his own way. Tsuna was beginning to grow accustomed to the baby's presence in his daily life, to the point where he almost couldn't remember what his life had been like before all the chaos Reborn brought with him entered it. "Thanks, Reborn."

Reborn hopped to his feet. "We should go home now. Maman must be wondering where we are," the Arcobaleno said, facing Tsuna as the brunet slowly and painfully sat up.

Tsuna chuckled lightly, biting back a wince as his muscles protested movement. His legs still felt like jelly. He wasn't totally sure they would support his weight the whole way home. The brunet shakily got to his feet, but couldn't keep down his exclamation of surprise as his legs collapsed again. He had the feeling Reborn was laughing at him.

"So pathetic, Baka-Tsuna," said Reborn, smirking. "You can't even get up by yourself."

If looks could kill, Reborn would be dead a thousand times over; the heat of Tsuna's glare was just that scorching.

* * *

Reborn was merciless, that much Tsuna understood of his spartan tutor. Even after allowing him to get a good night's rest, the next day he had Tsuna running himself ragged again. It was like Reborn was attempting to make Tsuna become one with the dirt instead of becoming a mafia boss. Tsuna secretly mused that Reborn was an enemy agent in disguise who was attempting to kill the future Vongola Decimo before he could get any stronger, but a few rapidly-shot rounds from Reborn's Leon-gun quickly put that thought out of his mind.

It was on a particularly hot day that Tsuna got his first true taste of the darker side of the mafia world.

He was heading home from the market, carrying a small bag of goods that Nana had asked him to get for her. The sun was beating down relentlessly on his slim frame, and he was sweating profusely despite wearing a T-shirt and shorts. He swallowed, his throat feeling slightly parched. _It's so hot_, he groaned mentally, pausing for a rest in the shade of a tree. _Man, wish I had something cool to drink right now._

The quiet sound of tires against pavement reached his ears. As he turned around, the high-pitched ring of a bicycle bell announced the presence of a biker to his right, and he automatically stepped to the side to let the person pass. However, the biker stopped next to him and dismounted. Tsuna warily put a bit of distance between him and the unknown person; anyone who biked around in that strange get-up inspired a modicum of caution.

The biker had to be a woman, judging by her ample chest size, skin-tight pants, and the dark purple high heels she sported. She reached up and took off her helmet and goggles, letting the latter hang from her arm by its strap. Tsuna blinked as long, wavy, pastel-pink hair spilled out of the helmet, falling down to the woman's waist. _She's rather pretty_, he thought. _But considering my status as the future tenth boss of Vongola and the fact that she purposely biked up to me - well, I'm pretty sure she's in the mafia, too._

The unknown woman smiled demurely at him. "Hello," she said. Her voice was pleasant. "It's hot today, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is," Tsuna answered politely.

"You must be thirsty. Here, you can have this," she said, handing him a sealed can of juice. The smooth surface felt chilled, as if it had just been taken out of a refrigerator.

"Thank you," Tsuna replied, wrapping both hands around the unopened can. Its icy surface felt like heaven to his hands. The woman nodded, still smiling, and biked away.

Tsuna wasn't stupid. He might be just fourteen years old, but he wasn't so naive that he would drink something a completely random stranger handed to him, especially since he was a future mafia boss. As soon as the woman was gone from view, he turned, held the can an arm's length from him, opened it, and poured a bit of it on to the pavement. He dropped the whole thing when the liquid began to hiss and bubble menacingly, strange, nearly translucent fumes spiraling towards the sky. He scooted away, grimacing as a crow cawing noisily from the top of a nearby telephone pole got caught in the fumes and fell to the ground, dead. Its beady eyes were blank, and its beak was still open mid-caw.

If he ever saw that woman again, he was going to run for his life. Death by poisoning didn't sound fun at all.

Tsuna entered his house, dropping the bag of groceries gently on the counter. He went upstairs, calling Reborn's name. The sight that greeted him as he walked into his room nearly made him faceplant into the floor. At most, his eye merely twitched.

Reborn was standing by the open window, large black beetles crawling all over his face and fedora hat. It was rather freaky to look at.

"What are those beetles on your face for, Reborn?" asked Tsuna warily.

The baby turned towards him. Simultaneously, the beetles left Reborn's face and flew out the window together, dispersing once they were in the open air. "Those were my summer minions," said the baby hitman. "They were gathering information for me. Apparently Bianchi is in town."

"Who's Bianchi?"

"A fellow hitman and acquaintance of mine," answered Reborn.

Suspicions began to float to the front of Tsuna's mind. "Does she happen to have long, pink hair and a habit of handing poisoned drinks to other people?" he asked. "Because someone like that came up to me earlier and tried to kill me with a can of juice."

"I see you've already met her," said Reborn. "It's problematic that she attempted to assassinate you, though. As the tutor of the future Vongola Decimo, it is my responsibility to make sure you don't die. I will talk to her when I see her."

"So she _is_ part of the mafia," Tsuna concluded under his breath. His brow furrowed. "Wait, if she's an acquaintance of yours, that means she's either part of or allied with Vongola, right? Why did she try to kill me, then?"

"You'll have to ask her directly," said Reborn. Just then the doorbell rang downstairs. Tsuna went to answer the door, thinking it might be one of his friends coming over for a visit.

He slammed the door shut and locked it as quickly as he could when he saw just _who_ was at the door. _How the hell does she know my address?_ he screamed mentally.

"Who was it?" asked Reborn, coming down the stairs.

"It was that woman, Bianchi," hissed Tsuna, edging away from the door in case she decided to forego ringing the doorbell again in favor of knocking the whole door down. "Do something about her, Reborn! I don't want to be subjugated to her deadly cans of juice again."

"Bianchi's specialty is Poison Cooking, not just poisoned juice," said Reborn. "Open the door for me. I'll talk to her."

"As long as I don't die the second I open the door," muttered Tsuna, scooping Reborn up and placing the baby on his shoulder. He braced himself for the inevitable confrontation and prayed that the woman wouldn't poison him before Reborn talked to her. Then he opened the door.

"One special delivery of Italian Vongola pizza!" said Bianchi, stepping forward and putting her foot in the doorway so Tsuna couldn't shut it again. Her eyes landed on the baby riding comfortably on Tsuna's shoulder. "Oh, Reborn!"

"Ciaossu, Bianchi," greeted Reborn.

The woman's eyes watered, to Tsuna's bemusement. "I'm here to bring you back to Italy, Reborn," she said, setting down the box of pizza (or was it even pizza?). "A life of peace and tutoring doesn't suit you. You belong with me in the dark underworld of the mafia, doing dangerous and thrilling jobs. What do you say, Reborn? Will you return with me?"

"I've already told you, Bianchi, that Nono has entrusted me with the job of training Tsuna to become Vongola Decimo," said Reborn. "You realize that by attempting to assassinate the last heir of Vongola you are also attempting to end the Vongola Famiglia? If you had succeeded, it would have been counted as treason against Vongola and you would be hunted down and eliminated without mercy."

"But Reborn—" the woman began.

"My duty is first and foremost to the Famiglia, Bianchi," said Reborn, frowning. "Not to you. Don't forget that." Bianchi's head bowed, her eyes shadowed by strands of long pink hair falling over her face. The baby leaped off Tsuna's shoulder and walked back into the house. "Come on, Baka-Tsuna. You have work to do."

Tsuna snuck a glance towards Bianchi. "Reborn can be a bit harsh sometimes," he said to the woman. "But he is right. So, um, are you okay?"

Bianchi looked up, seething. "It's your fault," she whispered, picking up the box at her feet. "If it wasn't for you, Reborn would never have come here. If it wasn't for you, he would be doing missions in Italy, not babysitting some brat with delusions of grandeur."

"Are you calling me a brat with delusions of grandeur?" asked Tsuna, raising an incredulous eyebrow at her. He could think of someone else who actually fit that description to a T. "Pardon me, but I am actually the fourteen year-old Vongola Decimo-in-training. I don't know where you got the idea that I had delusions of grandeur in my head, but I would like to say that before you make baseless accusations against me, you actually get to _know_ me first. Considering you tried to poison me earlier, I'm not inclined to befriend you. Have a good day, Bianchi." He pushed the woman's foot from the doorway and closed the door quickly, not wanting whatever was in the pizza box to be hurled in his face.

"Hurry up, Baka-Tsuna!" called Reborn from the top of the stairs. "You're so slow."

"I'm coming, I'm coming," replied Tsuna. "Hey, Reborn? Can you tell me more about Bianchi?"

"Bianchi is a freelance hitman whose nickname is the "Poison Scorpion" because her special skill is Poison Cooking," Reborn explained as the two entered Tsuna's room.

"She seems to view you as a lot more than just a mere acquaintance. What's up with that?" asked Tsuna.

"Bianchi loves me. She's my fourth lover," said the baby hitman bluntly, ignoring the surprised choke that came from Tsuna's direction at the mention of 'lover'.

"Lover?!" Tsuna exclaimed. "How is that even possible? You're just a - and she's - what?!" Tsuna's brain seemed to explode. He fell on his bed in a daze, muttering something about babies and how it wasn't possible for a two year-old to have a lover at that age. Reborn jumped over to him and gave him a good, solid whack upside the head. "Ow!"

"Baka-Tsuna, forget about Bianchi and concentrate on your homework," scolded the baby. "If you don't get all the answers right, then..." Leon transformed into Reborn's usual green gun, which clicked ominously. Tsuna didn't need another hint.

* * *

"Tsuna-kun!" Kyoko greeted the brunet as he came down the street. They usually met up in the classroom because Tsuna often came in nearly late, but this time he was earlier than usual because he had a fitful sleep. Despite Reborn telling him not to worry about it, Tsuna kept wondering whether Bianchi was going to assassinate him in his sleep. Thus, he ended up not sleeping very well that night. It didn't matter too much, though, since he always slept in class anyway.

"Good morning, Kyoko-chan," said Tsuna.

The orange-haired girl fell in line with him, matching his pace step by step. "Today in home-economics class, we're going to make riceballs," she said, smiling. "Hana-chan and I will probably give ours to you, okay?"

"Sure, I can't wait to taste them," said Tsuna, grinning. Hey, who was he to pass up free riceballs?

Then he heard the dreaded jingle of a familiar bell. One look behind him was all he needed for him to grab Kyoko's hand and run towards the school like a bat out of hell. There was no way he was going to give Bianchi another chance to poison him, much less Kyoko.

"Tsuna-kun, slow down! Why are we running?" asked Kyoko.

"You heard the bicycle bell, didn't you?" said Tsuna. "The woman on that bike is named Bianchi. She's trying to kill me."

"What? Kill you?" Kyoko looked startled. "Why?"

"I'll explain later, we need to get out of here before she catches us," Tsuna said, rushed. He could still hear the jingle of that dreaded bicycle bell, chasing them down the street. A bicycle was faster than human legs alone, but as long as he had Kyoko with him, he couldn't exactly use his flames in broad daylight in front of so many civilians. Wait, if they were in public - would "Poison Scorpion" Bianchi dare to kill them in public? She probably would; one whiff of those fumes could be fatal. He kept on running. Maybe it was a good thing Reborn trained him so much without the use of his flames.

Finally the gates of the school came into view, along with the familiar sight of a glaring prefect leaning against one of the gates. Once they were beyond those gates, they were safe. Hibari would be able to pick up on Bianchi's less-than-friendly vibes and hopefully send her away.

Tsuna gave Hibari a look as they passed through the gates, gesturing vaguely behind them with his head and mouthed, "Someone's chasing us. Disturbing Namimori." When Hibari's steel-colored eyes sharpened with both interest and anger, Tsuna hastily tacked on, "It's a woman named Bianchi. Long, pink hair and riding a bicycle, you can't miss her."

Hibari nodded noncommittally and fixed his scowl back on his face, his eyes roving over the scared students inching past him through the gates and moving towards the streets in front of the school. He briefly saw a woman on a bicycle passing through one of the streets, but she disappeared when his eyes swept back over that spot. Smart woman, knowing that she probably wouldn't be able to get past him.

Tsuna slowed down as he and Kyoko entered the school building, deeming it safe to stop running like the devil himself was at his heels. He took off his shoes and put them in his locker, exchanging them for the shoes he wore while in school.

Kyoko came over to him so they could walk to class together. "What was that all about, Tsuna-kun? Was it related to the mafia thing Reborn-chan talked about before?" she asked.

"That's right. He had you undergo some training so that you would be equipped well enough to defend yourself in case you're ever targeted by enemy Mafioso," Tsuna replied, kicking the floor with the toe of his shoe to tuck the rest of his heel into his shoe. "Let's go, Kyoko-chan. Hana-chan will want to hear about this."

* * *

Later that afternoon, Tsuna found out that being in the school wasn't so safe after all. He'd forgotten, of course, that Bianchi was a professional assassin. Of course she would be able to slip into the school building undetected, bypassing even Hibari. This one was even more troublesome than he expected.

The girls of Namimori's 2A-class announced to the boys, "We're going to give you boys the riceballs that we've made in class today!" Elated cheers met their announcement, waking Tsuna up from his nap.

"Hmm, what's going on?" he mumbled, rubbing the sleepiness from his eyes. "Did something happen?"

Yamamoto slung an arm over Tsuna's shoulder and said, "The girls are giving us their riceballs now. Who are you going to accept yours from?"

Gokudera bristled automatically at the casual way Yamamoto treated his boss, but tried to keep a lid on his temper upon remembering Tsuna's talk with him about wanting 'friends' and not just 'subordinates'. "Obviously Sasagawa and Kurokawa are going to give theirs to Tsuna-sama," he declared. "In fact, all the girls should give their riceballs to him. The other boys are unworthy in comparison."

"Now, now, that wouldn't be fair to rest of the boys, Gokudera," said Yamamoto cheerfully. "I agree that Sasagawa and Kurokawa would give theirs to Tsuna, but I think the other girls should distribute their own among the other boys in this class." Gokudera sneered at him.

"No fighting with Yamamoto-kun, Hayato-kun," Tsuna said tiredly. "I'm not in the mood toda—" He stopped abruptly as he caught a flash of pastel-pink hair behind the girls. His eyes widened in horror as Bianchi silently appeared and quickly swapped Kyoko's riceballs with her own, which were purple, wormy, and emitting a feeling of _doooooom._

She was gone before Tsuna could take a single step forward, and since Kyoko was chatting with Hana, she was none the wiser. The two girls stepped towards Tsuna, intending to give him their riceballs.

"Here, Sawada-kun," said Hana, thrusting her four, white, nicely shaped riceballs towards Tsuna. Tsuna took them with a mumbled word of thanks, his eyes still glued to the writhing purple clumps in Kyoko's hands.

"I know you like salmon, Tsuna-kun, so I made mine with some!" Kyoko said, holding the deadly riceballs out.

Tsuna took a deep breath. "Kyoko-chan, have you looked at the riceballs in your hands?" he asked slowly.

Kyoko looked confused for a moment, then glanced down at the purple things she was holding. She screamed and dropped them to the floor, where they began to emit deadly fumes upon contact with the floor. "Eek! W-what happened to my riceballs?"

"Stay away from them! They're poisonous and might paralyze or kill you if you come in contact with their fumes!" Tsuna shouted, prompting a mass panicked reaction as all the students evacuated the classroom to get away from the deadly riceballs.

"Yamamoto-kun, Hayato-kun, can you help me…" Tsuna trailed off as Gokudera stood frozen in place, his face turning chalk-white as he stared down at the poisoned food. He began to shake, sheer terror replacing his usual expression.

"What's wrong, Gokudera? Did the fumes get to you already?" asked Yamamoto curiously.

Gokudera only whispered one word before he fainted, "A…Aneki…"

…_Sister? Why would Gokudera say that when he saw the riceballs? Unless…_ Tsuna looked thoughtful as he made two possible connections. Either Gokudera's older sister was killed by Bianchi's Poison Cooking, or…

Or Bianchi _was_ his sister.

* * *

"Yes, Bianchi and Gokudera are half-siblings," Reborn replied when Tsuna asked him later that day, after his daily spar with Hibari. "They have different mothers."

"I see," Tsuna said, switching his attention to Gokudera, who was hunched in the corner holding his stomach. "Hayato-kun, could you tell me why you reacted so strongly when you saw Bianchi's riceballs?"

Gokudera shuddered, a slightly ill look appearing on his face again. Even though she wasn't particularly fond of Gokudera, even Hana felt a bit sorry for the transfer student. "I was the first guinea pig for her Poison Cooking," he croaked. "I lived with her until I was eight, and that was when I couldn't take it anymore and ran away from home. I was six when I had a piano performance at one of the parties that was held at the castle—"

"Wait a minute, you're telling me you used to live in a _castle?_" Hana asked incredulously.

Gokudera shot her a half-hearted glare. "Yeah, you got a problem with that, stupid woman?" he shot back.

Hana harrumphed and crossed her arms. "I just can't see a stupid, delinquent monkey like you dressed up as some pampered rich boy from Italy," she retorted.

"That must have been fun!" said Yamamoto, grinning.

"It does sound fun," Kyoko agreed. "Continue with your story, Gokudera-kun."

Gokudera took a deep breath to quell his uneasy stomach. "Like I was saying, I had to perform piano in front of the party's guests. That was also the first day Aneki baked cookies for me – only I didn't know at the time that she somehow possessed the ability to turn all her cooking into Poison Cooking," he explained.

"So it's impossible for her to cook anything normal," Tsuna concluded, one eyebrow slightly raised. "That's kind of impressive, actually."

"Those cookies were just the beginning. After I ate one, I suddenly felt nauseous and extremely dizzy, so my performance was bizarre beyond words," Gokudera continued, shuddering at the memory. "It was still highly praised in the end, so my father decided that Bianchi should make me the cookies again. The trauma of eating her Poison Cooking still haunts me to this day and I can't even look at her without getting a severe stomach ache or fainting."

"Sounds painful," everyone agreed.

Tsuna turned to Kyoko. "Kyoko-chan, I need you to do something for me. In the kitchen, my mom should have ginger root in one of the cupboards. Could you make some honey and ginger tea for Hayato-kun? It might help to settle his stomach a bit," he said.

"Sure! Hana-chan, can you come with me?" asked Kyoko, standing up. Hana nodded and the girls headed downstairs.

"Thank you, Tsuna-sama. I apologize for troubling you like this," Gokudera said, clutching his stomach tightly.

"Don't worry about it, it isn't your fault that your body has an automatic reaction to your sister," said Tsuna, patting Gokudera on the shoulder. "We'll just have to make sure that you two don't see each other."

"I don't think I can avoid her unless she's out of town," muttered the bomber. "Tsuna-sama, c-could you make her leave?"

"Me? She's already out to kill me, so I doubt she'll listen to me," Tsuna replied, frowning. "I'm sure she'll listen to Reborn, though. She's infatuated with him."

"Just drive her away," Gokudera said. "I hate her. I can't stand her."

"You need to be stronger if you hope to become Tsuna's right-hand man," chirped Reborn from the window sill. "If you can overcome your fear of Bianchi, you will be much stronger, Gokudera."

"Reborn-san," the bomber greeted.

"Don't worry about Bianchi. I've sent her out of town to get some eel. I didn't want her to disrupt your training," said Reborn, smirking. "After you drink your tea, you are all going to train until dinnertime. No excuses."

Collective groans met his tiny ears. Reborn seated himself on Tsuna's desk and began to run through the day's lesson plans.

He loved being a home tutor.

* * *

**And **_**cut!**_** The chapter is over. These chapters are getting longer and longer… so, what did you think of Bianchi? By the way, I'm going to warn you in advance that my absences will probably be longer from now on. I'll be moving back to college on Sunday, but between classes and projects and a job at the dining hall, I don't think I'll have much time to write.**

**Good news! I finally got my hands on a new computer. The old one that I've typed all the previous chapters on was pretty much a piece of junk (sooooo slow) and I'm glad that I have this new computer to work with. It's an Asus, 15.6" screen, measures 0.8" thin, and ultraportable at 5.1 lb. I love how smoothly it runs. Windows 8 took a bit to get used to, but the user guide that came with the computer was definitely handy. The battery life is pretty nice. If I'm only typing and not gaming or listening to music, the battery lasts longer than 4 hours. The Instant-On function for sleep mode is pretty sweet, too.**

**Well, so long for now. Remember: reviews = motivation.**

**See you next time.**

**MangaFreak15**


	9. Chapter 8: That Crazy Spring Chick

**A reviewer suggested that Irie Shouichi make his appearance early, so the next chapter will be on him. For now, Haru is coming to the stage. Enjoy! Oh, and there is a Tsuna/Kyoko bro-sis bonding moment. THEY ARE NOT A PAIRING. THEY ARE LIKE PSEUDO-SIBLINGS. Don't mistake the moment as a Tsuna/Kyoko girl-boy romance moment, because it's not.**

**By the way, we've reached 600 follows! Hooray!**

* * *

**Blazing Sky**

** Gen. fic, no pairings.**

**Features sarcastic!resentful!Tsuna.**

* * *

**Summary:** Tsuna isn't stupid. He knows that construction workers usually aren't absent as long as his father is, and construction workers usually don't visit the South Pole to take pictures with penguins. He also knows that normal people can't conjure flames at will, yet he can. What's left is to wait and see, watch and learn. When Reborn goes to Namimori, he expected an idiot student, but found Sawada Tsunayoshi.

* * *

**Chapter Eight – That Crazy Spring Chick**

* * *

_Lean right_. The incoming fist sailed harmlessly past her face. She crouched lightly, cocking her arm back, her hand tightening around the smooth wooden handle. But her opponent leaped out of her range before she could go on the offensive, somersaulting backwards through the air and landing gracefully on both feet. She flicked the tiny mechanism on the handle near her thumb, mentally gauging the distance between them. Perfect. She thrust the wooden handle forward, the weighted chain on the end rocketing towards her opponent. He dodged it, one hand coming down to grab the silver chain.

She pushed off the ground in a great, flying leap, swinging her second weapon at him. The spiked ball passed over his head as he ducked, but the chain remained tightly in his grasp. She narrowed her eyes at him, tugging experimentally backwards with the wooden handle. His grip was like iron. Damn it.

She stepped forward, swinging her second weapon again. This time, despite missing him, she continued her assault, jabbing and swinging continuously. The spiked ball sliced through the air with deadly precision, its attached chain jerking it to the frenzied movements of her left arm. But she wasn't fast enough; he dodged each and every strike with an infuriating half-smirk, half-grin. Her arm muscles tired quickly, unused to the speed and movement of her jabs.

He suddenly yanked on the chain in his grip. She yelped as the wooden handle was swiftly tugged from her hand, nearly making her fall face-first to the floor. She regained her balance with a quick somersault, but as she came out of her roll, the cold, silver chain was draped across her neck. It tightened lightly against her throat, meant as a victory message rather than a threat.

"I win, Hana-chan," Tsuna sing-songed from behind her.

Hana sighed. "I yield," she said. The chain slackened immediately. Tsuna pulled it from her neck, flicking the switch on the handle to retract it. As she got up, dusting herself off, he handed it back to her. "Geez, Sawada-kun, you're a veritable battle genius, aren't you?"

The brunet laughed and scratched the back of his head. "I wouldn't say that," he replied, making his way towards the bench. He was thirsty after that spar. "You did pretty well for someone who started training not too long ago. I'd say you're the battle genius."

"You beat me," Hana pointed out. Tsuna opened his mouth to answer her, but she quickly continued, "And don't say it's because you're a boy – that's sexist. I just need more practice with these things."

"I wasn't going to say that," Tsuna protested. "You know me, Hana-chan. I was just going to say that I've gone through Reborn's training-from-hell longer than you have."

"Yeah, that's true. Plus, you need it more than I do, being the future head honcho and all that," Hana said, walking up next to him and grabbing a bottle of water.

Tsuna looked at her contemplatively. "You know, I never pegged you as the type to use chains. Got a secret fetish, Hana-chan?" He waggled his eyebrows teasingly.

Hana smacked him with the end of the wooden handle, her facial muscles pulled into a ferocious scowl. "I do not! And if you channel 'arrogant jerk' one more time, I'll show you how much it hurts to be hit by my flails!" she hissed.

Tsuna held up his hands in a placating manner. "I'm just teasing, Hana-chan. I honestly don't think the flails suit you," he replied.

His dark-haired friend took a few sips of water. "Well, not like I'm suited for much else," she grumbled. "Swords don't have good range. A mace is too heavy. I don't have enough fist and arm strength to pull off brass knuckles. Trench knives also don't have enough long and mid-distance range. The pole is uncomfortable, I don't know how Kyoko can stand it."

"What about guns?" Hana paled. "Okay, what about a scythe?"

"Too unwieldy. Where would I store something that size, anyway?"

"Point taken. Kusarigama?"

"Doesn't feel right."

"Throwing knives?"

"Too small, and if I throw them all, I'll be left defenseless."

"Tonfas?"

Hana gave him a sideways glance. "Do I look like I can channel Hibari?" she deadpanned.

"Right," Tsuna chuckled, taking a sip from his own water bottle. "Whips?"

"Not solid enough, plus they're hard to use at close range."

"Bow and arrows?"

"Same problem."

"Spear?"

"Sawada-kun, _what_ did I say when you suggested a scythe?"

"Sorry. Chakrams?"

Hana paused, weighing the pros and cons of it in her head. "They wouldn't be too bad, but I want something I'm not going to be afraid of catching," she said. "Something preferably blunt."

"You seemed fine with the spiked ball at the end of one of your flails," Tsuna pointed out.

"That's different. Chakrams are deadly flying Frisbees."

Tsuna almost choked on his water as laughter bubbled in his throat. "Only you would compare a chakram to a Frisbee," he said. He sat on the bench, drumming his fingers absently against the side of the bottle as he tried to think of what kind of weapon would suit Hana.

Hana sat down beside him. "You can't think of any more, can you?" she asked.

"Give me a sec, I'm still thinking," Tsuna replied, his brows furrowing in concentration. Hana let him sink his thoughts for a bit. She tipped her bottle back, draining it until there was about a quarter left.

Tsuna suddenly shot up, startling her so much that she almost spilled water down her front. She gave him a dirty look, wiping her mouth and chin so water didn't drip on her shirt. "Sorry," the brunet apologized, grinning. "But I've thought of the perfect weapon for you – a _nunchaku!"_

Hana stared at him blankly. "Aren't those illegal?" she asked.

"I'm a future mafia boss. Legality isn't an issue."

"Point taken."

* * *

Tsuna knew that his life had become much stranger after meeting Reborn, chock full of dangerous characters and assassination attempts. Bianchi still tried to kill him at least two times a week, despite Reborn's warnings. Needless to say, the baby hitman wasn't too happy about that fact. He tried to send Bianchi away on small, silly, meaningless errands to get her out of the way, but she always came back, and the cycle would repeat itself all over again. It was exasperating.

However, nothing could have prepared him for the ordeal of meeting Miura Haru, someone who was both deeper in the river of denial than Bianchi and odder than Gokudera, Bianchi, and Lambo _combined._

It began on a summer day as Tsuna headed to school. He took the same route as he always did, Reborn walking over the low-rise walls beside him. Of course, since the walls surrounded people's houses, whoever looked outside in the morning would see a suit-wearing baby casually strolling across the top of their wall like he owned it. Some called him cute, some believed Tsuna was the devil for allowing him to be in such a precarious situation (what if he fell and hurt himself?), and some weren't sure what to think about such a weird kid. There were some days where the baby would ride on the boy's shoulders or on top of his head instead of walking across the wall, and while that was a tad safer, people silently wished the boy would carry him like any normal person would. Teens these days!

One of the residents couldn't take it anymore, and decided to confront Tsuna face-to-face about his neglectful behavior. Early in the morning, she got up, brushed her teeth, put on her uniform, and was out the door after a few bites of breakfast. She ran and hid behind the wall, peeping out occasionally to see if she could spot the brunet and the cute baby.

_There!_

As soon as the duo walked closer, she leaped onto the wall around her house in order to confront the baby. "Hello!" she shouted, shakily balancing herself on top of the wall. This was hard! How dare the boy make the angelic baby do this every day!

"Um, hi," Tsuna replied slowly, looking extremely perplexed. Who the hell was this weird girl?

"Not you! I was talking to Reborn-chan!" she growled, shooting him a venomous glare. She turned back to the baby hitman and repeated her greeting just as enthusiastically as the first time, to which Reborn replied with his customary "Ciaossu!" Tsuna sweatdropped as she completely ignored him. Bipolar, much?

"My name is Miura Haru," she introduced. "W-would you be my friend?"

"Sure," Reborn replied without missing a beat. Tsuna facepalmed. They didn't even _know_ her, for god's sake!

The girl, upon hearing Reborn's reply, swooned off the wall with a joyous cry. Tsuna stepped forward in alarm, ready to catch her so she didn't hurt herself falling on concrete, but she managed to flip and land on her feet. Then she did a very strange victory dance, thrusting both arms into the air as her foot slammed forward. "Yes! This is awesome!" she yelled, spinning around. "I'm officially friends with Reborn-chan!" She turned back to him, adopting a half-serious expression. "Can you, you know, hug me? Like this?" She wrapped her arms around herself and squeezed tightly, making kissy noises into the air.

Tsuna was highly disturbed. He briefly contemplated grabbing Reborn and making a run for it so he didn't have to be in the same vicinity as this mentally-ill chick. She was definitely dropped on her head one too many times as a baby.

Reborn spoke up, interrupting Tsuna's thoughts, "Don't touch me."

"What, why?" the girl asked, confused.

"Because I'm a hitman," Reborn cheerfully replied. Tsuna wanted to facepalm again, but his instincts warned him to move backwards. He unconsciously leaned back to avoid the slap that came his way. He stared at the girl, bewildered.

"What was that for?" he asked, sidestepping as she tried to smack him again.

"You've corrupted a baby, you bastard!" she shouted, an indignant fire lighting in her eyes. "What have you been teaching to this poor, innocent angel? Assassination techniques! How sick can you be?!"

Tsuna's eye twitched as she continued to barrage him with accusations. This girl was no better than Bianchi, spouting meaningless insults against him when she had neither the proof nor the justification for it.

Haru paused to catch her breath. Tsuna gazed at her, his expression schooled into a mask of boredom. "Are you done now?" he asked, his voice flat. He should definitely grab Reborn and run. This chick obviously had too many screws loose in the head. Being in her presence for another minute would be detrimental to his health.

She flared up angrily and geared up for The Great Rant: Round 2. Oh hell no, he wasn't going to stand for this. Being verbally abused by someone he just met on the street was entirely different from being verbally assaulted by someone he actually knew. Tsuna quickly snatched Reborn off the top of the wall and ran for the school.

"Hey!" Haru screamed at his retreating back. "I wasn't finished yet, you jerk! Come back here! Don't worry, Reborn-chan, Haru will save you from that evil child abuser!" She chased after them, shaking her fist wildly. The wide-eyed passersby only saw a brown-haired teen carrying a baby being chased by a girl in school uniform, and muttered to themselves that kids that age shouldn't already be making babies. Tsuna wanted to kick them in places where the sun didn't shine for even _suggesting_ that he would have shacked up with such a loony girl. He felt sorry for her future husband, but, he reasoned, whoever wanted to procreate with her must be equally batshit insane.

She finally stopped running after him, too tired to keep up with him anymore. "I-I'll get you! You child abuser," she half-heartedly yelled. Her lungs burned like they'd been roasted in a fire. The boy was _fast._ Oh well, she'd just have to be prepared tomorrow. She would ambush him and make him pay for his crimes against that poor baby. Nodding to herself, she marched back towards her house. She had to pick up her bag and get to school.

Tsuna didn't stop running until he was safely past the gates of Namimori Middle, where the ever-diligent Hibari stood watch. In the middle of their flight from the psychotic girl, Reborn had somehow disappeared from his arms and reappeared on top of his head. The prefect inclined his head in acknowledgment at both of them as they crossed onto campus grounds. It had been several weeks since Reborn first introduced the daily routine of sparring with Hibari after school, and Tsuna was quite happy to say that he accumulated less bruises with each session. But if he improved in leaps and bounds, Hibari did, too. He left less openings for Tsuna to exploit, was quicker on his feet than before, and swung his tonfas with just the right amount of power and precision behind each strike, wasting no movements and no energy. If anyone was the real battle genius here, it was definitely Hibari, hands down.

"Why were you running?" the prefect questioned, his eyes zeroing in on Tsuna's slightly crooked tie and the beads of sweat that stuck the brunet's hair to the back of his neck.

"I was being chased by a lunatic who thought Reborn was the epitome of angelic innocence," Tsuna replied, sarcasm coloring his tone at the last two words. Hibari's facial expression barely changed; his left eyebrow rose about a millimeter, but when Tsuna blinked, the prefect's normal face had already returned.

Reborn leaped off his head, greeting Hibari, "Ciaossu!" He turned to his student and motioned towards the school, "Get to class, Baka-Tsuna. You have a lot to do today!"

"Yeah, yeah," sighed Tsuna, walking towards the school. He wondered what kind of torture Reborn had in store for him today.

* * *

"No, Kyoko-chan, your movement is too awkward. You need to widen your attack range by bringing the pole down like this," Tsuna corrected, bringing Kyoko's hands and the pole to the starting position, then slashing downwards in a fast, but not too harsh movement. He brought her hands up again and repeated the process two more times before he let go. "Try again, Kyoko-chan. I know you can do it." He stepped a few feet away and waited for her to attack him.

Kyoko clutched the pole tightly, trembling. "But…but what if I hurt you?" she said.

Tsuna sighed. This was one of the reasons why he didn't want Kyoko involved with the mafia – she was too soft to survive in the harsh underground society. But Reborn insisted. What the baby hitman wanted, he got.

"Don't worry about that, Kyoko-chan. I'll be fine. Just pretend that I'm someone who is trying to hurt your friends and won't listen to what you have to say," he said. "Come at me with everything you have."

Kyoko still looked unsure at the prospect of physically attacking one of her best friends. She worried briefly at her lower lip, then brought the pole high over her head and swung down towards Tsuna, squeezing her eyes shut.

The brunet easily caught her pole in one hand. "You're not putting enough power in your strikes, Kyoko-chan," he said. "I know this is hard and frustrating, but you've got to remember that bad things can happen at any time. If Hana-chan and I were injured and you were the only one able to protect us until reinforcements arrived, you'd try your best, right?" He really had to find some way to persuade Reborn to keep her as a healer instead of a fighter.

Kyoko dropped her pole with a dejected sigh. "I can't do it, Tsuna-kun, I'm sorry," she said apologetically. "I – I can't hurt people. I don't _like_ to hurt people. I can't even think about it without feeling ill. It goes against everything in my moral code."

Tsuna groaned and slapped a hand to his face. "So if someone was trying to kidnap you, you'd just _let_ them? This isn't a game, Kyoko-chan! This is self-defense," he said, feeling oddly irritated at her pacifist attitude.

"I know! I know what you're going to be part of, Tsuna-kun. You and Hana-chan both – you're so amazing and I… I can't… I'm not like that, Tsuna-kun," she whispered, her bangs hanging over her eyes. The brunet's eyes widened and he began to panic as crystal-clear tears of self-reproach began to slide down her pale cheeks. Oh shit, he made her cry! _Now look at what you've done, you goddamn idiot,_ he screamed at himself.

"Don't cry, Kyoko-chan! Your brother and Hana-chan will kick my ass seven ways to Sunday if they find out I made you cry," Tsuna said, frantically trying to think of how he could cheer her up. "Hey, Kyoko-chan? Do you remember when you first met me? On the playground, during recess, after everyone found out that my dad had abandoned our family?"

"Yeah," she sniffled, scrubbing the tears from her cheeks.

"You and Hana-chan hadn't known me then. You thought I was lonely and in need of a friend," Tsuna recalled, inwardly sighing in relief as it seemed that she'd stopped crying in order to listen to him. "But when you decided to approach me, some kids had gotten to me first and were taunting me about being a 'mommy's boy' and being 'such a pathetic waste of space' that even my dad hadn't wanted to put up with me any longer. Do you remember that, Kyoko-chan?"

"Yes," she said softly, looking slightly downtrodden upon relieving those memories. Crap, he needed to get to the happy part before she got any more depressed.

Tsuna took a deep breath. "You and Hana-chan didn't like how the kids were picking on me, so you guys shoved them aside, put your hands on your hips, and berated them with all the tongue-lashing power of an upset mother. Which, I would like to add, was incredibly impressive for a pair of five year-olds," he said, a cheeky grin settling on his face. Kyoko let out a small giggle. Tsuna mentally cheered.

"A couple of the boys weren't intimidated by you two and they tried to put you in your place – then Hana-chan gave them the slap of the century and sent them packing with their tails between their legs! I remember you saying, and I quote, 'If you pick on Tsuna-kun again, I'll tell my onii-chan that you made me cry!' At that time, I was shocked because of two things: one, someone dared to defend me against bullies, and two, because you called me 'Tsuna-kun' even though we didn't know each other. Heh, it was a pretty long time ago, wasn't it?" Tsuna remarked fondly.

"It was," Kyoko agreed, smiling, her eyes sparkling with life again.

"When the three of us became friends, my mom was so happy. When I brought the two of you over for the first time, she was ecstatic. She thought that having friends, even though you and Hana-chan were my only ones, would fill the gap left by my dad. And while it didn't fill the whole way, my mom was definitely feeling more chipper afterwards," Tsuna said, grinning. "Remember that feeling, Kyoko-chan, when you first stood up for me. And that's what I want you to accomplish with this training – the goal isn't to _hurt_ somebody, but to defend your friends and family from people who are _trying_ to hurt us. Do you understand, Kyoko-chan?"

The orange-haired girl nodded slowly. "I still don't like it," she began, picking her pole back up from where it had fallen, "but when it comes down to it, I wouldn't want you or Hana-chan to get hurt."

"Atta girl. But the mafia is a very dark place, Kyoko-chan," said Tsuna seriously, his honey-brown eyes boring into hers. "I will try to get Reborn to place you as a healer instead of a front-line fighter, because I know your heart wouldn't be into it. At least as a healer, you can save lives instead of just taking them."

"Thanks, Tsuna-kun," she replied. "I'm sure Reborn-chan will listen to reason."

"You can't rely on me and Hana-chan forever, either," Tsuna said, shifting into position. "None of us know what the future holds in store, but no one can be around forever. I would rather see you attack someone instead of being kidnapped and held at their mercy. While it's true that if you or any of my friends were ever taken hostage, I would definitely rescue you, but things can happen. We have to hope for the best, but expect the worst. Now, come at me. Use everything you have and think of _defending_ your allies, not _hurting_ your enemies."

Kyoko nodded, brought the pole up, and charged.

* * *

The next morning, Tsuna took the trouble of taking a different route to school so he wouldn't run into the demented chick who was hell-bent on making him 'pay' for corrupting Reborn. If anything, Reborn was the one corrupting him with all his Spartan training methods!

"Tsuna-sama!" The brunet paused when he saw Gokudera waving to him some ways down the street. Yamamoto was with him. The two of them began to head Tsuna's way.

"Good morning, Hayato-kun, Yamamoto-kun," Tsuna greeted them, grinning.

Yamamoto slung an arm casually over his shoulders, which made Gokudera bristle. "Tsuna, I didn't bring this up before, but I noticed that you call Gokudera by his first name now. You should call me Takeshi. That way, we'll be closer!" he said cheerfully.

"If that's what you want," said Tsuna, shrugging Yamamoto's arm off. "Takeshi-kun, then." The baseball player beamed, not the least bit offended that his arm had been removed.

"Tch," Gokudera muttered under his breath. "Baseball freak shouldn't be privileged enough to be on a first-name basis with Tsuna-sama."

Yamamoto's smile froze. "What was that, nose hair? I couldn't hear you," he said deliberately, delighting in the way the bomber's face reddened.

"Hayato-kun, Takeshi-kun, what have I told you about fighting?" Tsuna asked, his voice flattening in resigned irritation. "If you keep this up, I'll revert back to calling you Gokudera-kun and Yamamoto-kun."

"Forgive me, Tsuna-sama. I am unworthy," said Gokudera quickly. He shot Yamamoto a glare, but didn't attempt to pick a fight.

"Well, that won't do," said Yamamoto. "Tsuna, I don't think it's possible to completely stop us from arguing. Gokudera and I are – how do you say, opposites? He's like fire with all his exploding sticks and I'm… well, the opposite. Like water."

"I know, but can you two at least try to be companionable while in my presence?" Tsuna requested. "When I'm not there, you can bicker all you want." Yamamoto and Gokudera silently agreed.

"Where is Reborn-san today?" asked Gokudera, noticing that the baby hitman wasn't with Tsuna.

"He said something about needing to talk to Bianchi," Tsuna replied, hastily apologizing when the bomber suddenly looked ill. "Her attempts to kill me are annoying him."

"I hope he sends her back to Italy," Gokudera muttered, shivering.

The trio reached a bridge and were about to cross it when they were intercepted by a figure in make-shift armor, who was holding a hockey stick in one hand and a helmet in the other. Tsuna groaned and silently sent a message of despair towards whatever deity might be listening. Luck was not on his side today, it seemed.

"I challenge you, c-child abuser," Haru said, sweat pouring down her face. It was a rather warm morning, and walking around in that kind of get-up probably didn't help much.

Both Gokudera and Yamamoto instantly assumed positions in front of Tsuna, hiding him from the view of the unknown assailant. "Who the fuck are you?" spat Gokudera, holding up four dynamite sticks that were ready to be lit at a moment's notice.

"Tsuna, a child abuser? Where did you get that idea?" asked Yamamoto, narrowing his eyes at her.

Haru gulped, but resolutely held her ground. "Because babies are cute, innocent angels and that boy corrupted Reborn-chan!" she said confidently, but the next second she deflated and mumbled, "But last night I found out that Reborn-chan is a real hitman. So if Reborn-chan is with that boy, that means he's either Reborn-chan's partner or his student. Either way, if Reborn-chan is a master hitman, that means you must be very strong. So I, Miura Haru, challenge you to a match."

"Tsuna-sama doesn't need to bother with people like you," Gokudera snarled. "I can blow you out of the way." The dynamites in his hand somehow managed to look more ominous despite being in bright sunlight.

"Now, now, let's not get violent," placated Yamamoto, trying to get Gokudera to lower his weapons. "Let Tsuna handle this."

Tsuna sighed. "You're going to lose," he said bluntly, stepping forward. He had to be quick, or they'd be late for school.

"We'll see about that!" Haru said, putting her helmet on. She charged forward with her hockey stick held up, and brought it down with surprising force. Tsuna noted that unlike Kyoko, Haru wasn't afraid to attack and put all her strength forth without needing to be told. She would probably make a good fighter if she was properly trained. Then he caught himself and he shook his head wildly. Hell no, he was not going to induct this crazy girl into his Famiglia! Reborn's powers of observation were starting to rub off on him. Curses!

The moment Haru's hockey stick made contact with ground, Tsuna kicked it out of her hands and knocked her flat on to the concrete. All the breath left her in a whoosh, and she let out a cry of pain as the armor dug into her ribs. This boy – "Tsuna-sama" was what the silver-haired teen had called him – was indeed very strong. He had disarmed and knocked her down with no effort at all. She knew without a doubt that she was outmatched.

His face appeared in her vision. "I told you," he said, grabbing her hand and yanking her up, armor and all. Haru wobbled unsteadily for a few seconds. She grabbed her helmet and pulled it off so that her own face would be visible.

"T-thanks," she murmured. "You're right, it was stupid of me to challenge you. I'm sorry for all the trouble that I've caused you."

Tsuna was surprised by her sudden mellow attitude. Gone was the crazy, confident girl who had yelled at him about Reborn, leaving a subdued, insecure teenager in her place. It felt… wrong. He groaned and slapped a hand to his face. Goddamn it, Reborn!

"It's fine," he told her. "Just don't attack me anymore, got it? I hate it when people accuse me of things that I didn't do."

"I guess calling you a child abuser was a bit over the top," Haru said sheepishly. "I'm very sorry! I'll stop. But can you continue to walk by my house every time you go to school so I can watch Reborn-chan from my window? I'd love to hug him, but oh, he probably wouldn't let me." She sighed and drifted into her own world.

Tsuna still found her disturbing and annoying, but not quite as much as before. He just hoped Reborn wouldn't try to get her into the Famiglia. It would be utter torture to endure her antics day in and out once he became the boss.

"Let's get to school," he said to his friends, taking off across the bridge. He didn't want to be late.

* * *

**Gah. I'm not very satisfied with the way this chapter turned out, mostly the Haru-Tsuna confrontation at the end. It felt choppy and forced and OOC, but I don't feel like rewriting it. A slightly shorter chapter this time, because there's not much to write about with Haru. Without the addition of the Hana and Kyoko scenes, this chapter would have been even shorter (and I would have had to think of something to fill the word gap because it would have been less than 3000 words).**

**Haru was annoying to write, seriously. Maybe it's just sleep deprivation, but I don't quite have as solid a grasp on her character as I do with the others, so whatever's here is my interpretation of her. I am not bashing her, please don't think I am.**

**In case you didn't get the memo above, the Tsuna/Kyoko scene is one of PSEUDO-SIBLING BONDING, **_**not **_**romantic interest. There are NO pairings for this story whatsoever, as stated every time at the beginning of the chapter. NO MATTER WHAT.**

**Thanks for reading, and I hope you'll leave a nice review to motivate me. Be on the lookout for updates; longer absence times because of RL.**

**See you next time.**

**MangaFreak15**


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